Marinade Finance was launched in 2021 and it’s a significant non-custodial liquid staking protocol on the Solana blockchain.

Introduction

Marinade Finance was launched in 2021 and it’s a significant non-custodial liquid staking protocol on the Solana blockchain. It allows users to stake their SOL tokens and get mSOL, a liquid staking derivative that reflects the SOL staked and rewards accumulated. This strategy allows users to get staking incentives while maintaining liquidity without locking up their tokens.

Key Features

  • Auto-delegation to 100+ validators: Your stake is split across a diverse set of reliable nodes. No need to research validators or optimize manually, Marinade handles that for you.
  • Instant liquidity: You can swap your mSOL for regular SOL instantly, whether via Marinade or a DEX.
  • Compounding rewards: As your SOL earns staking income, the value of your mSOL quietly goes up.
  • Governance via MNDE: Holders of the Marinade DAO token get a voice in shaping the protocol’s future.
  • DeFi integration: mSOL is usable in major Solana-based protocols like Jito, Ondo Finance, and more, making it one of the most composable assets in the ecosystem.

How Marinade Works

  • Connect your wallet – Phantom, Solflare, or any Solana-compatible wallet.
  • Stake your SOL – You’ll receive mSOL immediately you stake your SOL.
  • Put mSOL to work – Trade it, lend it, LP with it; whatever fits your strategy.
  • Unstake anytime – Swap mSOL back to SOL via Marinade or DEXs like Orca or Jupiter, anytime you feel like.

Why It Matters for Solana Users

For most SOL holders, capital efficiency has always been a pain point: stake and you lose flexibility; unstake and you miss out on yield. Marinade solves that tension. It’s a smart bridge between staking and DeFi.

And there's a bigger picture. By spreading SOL across a wide set of validators, Marinade actively improves decentralization on the Solana network. It’s not just passive yield; it’s yield that strengthens the chain.

How to Use It

marinade finance

marinade finance website banner

  • Connect Phantom, Solflare, or any Solana-compatible wallet
marinade finance - connect your wallet

connect your wallet

  • Deposit SOL to mint mSOL.
  • Use mSOL in DeFi protocols, provide liquidity, or hold for compounding rewards.
  • To exit, swap mSOL back to SOL instantly via Marinade or DEXs.

Fees

By default, Marinade takes a 6% cut from staking rewards—not your principal. Occasionally, they run promotions with reduced fees, especially during ecosystem pushes. This fee is deducted from the rewards earned through staking and not from the initial amount deposited.

Key Milestones

Launched

August, 2021

Marinade launched on Solana mainnet with a 100,000 SOL staking cap. Filled up within just 2.5 days.

Fair-launch model

November, 2021

MNDE governance token minted via fair-launch, no ICO.

On-chain DAO governance

April 2022

On-chain DAO governance went live.

TVL Surpassed $2B

2022

TVL: Surpassed $2 Billion, making it a top Solana DeFi protocol.

Realms

July 2023

Governance migrated to Realms for full on-chain voting and treasury control.

Validator Spread

2022-2023

Stakes distributed across 100+ validators for decentralization.

Integrations

2022-2023

Partnered with Jito, Ondo, Kyros, and more.

Resources

Addresses

Programs

Pubkey
899YG3yk...quW7L6Mo
Authority
FsrqQfLG...nsJCqgJe
Owner
GovMaiHf...fapoQoYs
Council Mint
6MGwpuJ5...dovkXxRs

Tokens

MNDE
MNDEFzGv...HuuPA5ey
Explorer

Last updated: 2025-06-30T20:17:01Z