Introducing Directed Stake with mSOL

After collaborting with the Solana validator and DeFi communities over the last several months, Marinade is pleased to launch the latest big update to its liquid staking protocol:

Directed Stake is here!

It’s the same great mSOL liquid staking token utilizing the largest Solana stake pool with the most DeFi-NFT integrations, but with more flexibility than ever before on which validator you support.

It’s officially integrated and live in  Marinade’s DApp. Here’s how it works:

What is Directed Stake?

Directed stake offers the choice to delegate your SOL stake to a single validator instead of using Marinade’s delegation strategy algorithm and still receive mSOL. This means you can opt to support the validator of your choice without sacrificing your liquidity.

Why Directed Stake?

~70% of SOL is staked, but only 2.5% of that is liquid. For the Solana ecosystem to thrive, much more liquid stake is needed. But native staking with a single validator makes the SOL illiquid. And while validators can create their own liquid staking tokens (like cgntSOL or LaineSOL), considering there are around 2,000 validators, the liquidity of these LSTs would be terribly fractured if adopted widely.

And in speaking with DeFi and NFT communities, despite the fact Marinade’s permissionless stake pool supports 100+ validators, there are many stakers and validators who don’t use liquid staking because they want their SOL to support the validator of their choice.

How does Directed Stake work?

Directed Stake will determine where 20% of the Marinade stake pool SOL is directed. This means that the amount of SOL you direct is based on how much SOL is used to vote during that epoch. Currently, there is roughly 4 million SOL in the stake pool. So ~800,000 SOL will be delegated based on the votes in the mSOL pool.

At first, it’s possible that a small amount of SOL may direct a number much larger to the validators you select as users begin using the product.

If you are currently staking mSOL using the delegation strategy and choose to stake more and direct it to a validator, all the SOL in your wallet will be directed to this validator. This SOL will remain staked with the validator you chose even if you use it in Solend or other DeFi protocols using Marinade’s Solana Snapshots tool.

For the time being, if you want to support more than one validator through Directed Stake, you will need to utilize one wallet per validator supported.

You can also deposit your existing SOL stake account instantly and support a validator.

How to direct your SOL stake

This also works for existing stake accounts. So if you’re staking to a validator, you can deposit it for mSOL and still direct SOL to that node:

Keep in mind that if your wallet already has mSOL, if you direct stake, all the mSOL in your wallet will be directed to that validator. Your mSOL can be used the same as you did when it was automatic.

Of course, if you’re happy with the Marinade delegation strategy 2.0, you can keep using it and continue adding SOL using the automatic option.

The new Marinade stake pool distribution

Prior to Directed Stake, 80% of Marinade’s stake pool was delegated via the permisisonless algorithm to the top 100 validators based on the scoring formula. The remaining 20% was directed via MNDE validator gauges.

The new split is 60% algorithm, 20% MNDE gauges, and 20% mSOL Directed Stake

Voting has begun and at the start of Epoch 453 the votes will distribute SOL stake to validators who receive the votes. The mDAO can assess the performance of the stake pool and adjust these parameters as they see fit through on-chain proposals.

Safeguards installed

Validators are eligible for Open Doors

Directed Stake is replacing the original  Liquid Self-Stake product  and is eligible for Marinade’s Open Doors campaign this year. This means validators who receive SOL via Marinade’s Directed Stake will not only receive staking rewards from the Marinade stake pool, but also additional MNDE on top of this, determined and paid out every two months.

Stakers, don’t worry, you can also get MNDE on top of staking rewards through liquidity mining at the Marinade DeFi page. View the latest distributions to see where you can rack up MNDE.

So what will you do with your liquid stake?

mSOL allows you to use your staked SOL in DeFi or NFTs however you would like, whether it’s using it as collateral, supplying liquidity, advanced trading it or even using it to buy NFTs. Using its new Solana Snapshots product it developed via the Marinade Grant program, Marinade can track mSOL used in DeFi and still direct the underlying SOL stake to the validators that wallet chose. To start, the following DeFi protocols are supported by Snapshots: Solend, Raydium 2.0, Orca Whirlpools, Saber, Tulip and Port, as well as mining MNDE on Marinade.

Visit Marinade’s DeFi Cookbook to learn more about how the mSOL liquid staking token can be used in DeFi.

Marinade now offers stakers the ability support validators three ways: via MNDE gauges, the permissionless scoring system, and mSOL Directed Stake.

Direct your SOL stake and get mSOL today in the Marinade DApp!