When you stake SOL using Marinade's liquid staking, you receive mSOL in return. This mSOL represents your staked SOL plus all future staking rewards. Instead of receiving additional tokens, the value of your mSOL increases over time.
This happens automatically through a rising SOL-to-mSOL ratio, which grows slightly each epoch as rewards are added to the staking pool. Your mSOL balance stays the same, but it becomes redeemable for more SOL.
Important:
If you sell or swap your mSOL, you are trading both the staked SOL and the staking rewards it has earned.
What You Will See
There is no separate "staked" and "earned" split for mSOL. Your position is simply the mSOL balance shown under Portfolio → Positions, and your rewards are already inside it.
Your mSOL balance stays the same unless you trade, stake more, or unstake.
Its value in SOL increases after each epoch, because your mSOL represents more SOL than it did before.
There is no claim button. Rewards are built into the exchange rate and compound automatically.
Your position screen shows your own data, not pool-wide figures. The graphs there track your position over time.
Note that this can be read two ways, and both describe the same thing: each mSOL is worth more SOL over time, which also means 1 SOL converts to fewer mSOL over time.
A Worked Example
Say the rate is 1.40 SOL per mSOL on the day you stake.
You deposit 1.40 SOL and receive 1 mSOL.
Your wallet shows 1 mSOL, and it keeps showing 1 mSOL.
A year later the rate has grown to about 1.48, so that same 1 mSOL unstakes for roughly 1.48 SOL.
You never received extra mSOL. The same 1 mSOL converts to more SOL than it did a year ago, and that difference is your reward.
The figures above assume roughly 6% over the year. The real rate changes every epoch, so treat this as an illustration rather than a forecast. The current rate is shown in the app.
Example Timeline
Epoch X: You deposit SOL and receive mSOL at the current rate.
Start of Epoch X+1: Rewards from Epoch X are applied to the pool. Your existing mSOL now maps to more SOL, and new deposits receive slightly fewer mSOL per SOL.
FAQ
Q: Why did my mSOL balance not change?
A: That is expected. Marinade Liquid uses an exchange rate rather than paying out extra tokens, so your mSOL units stay the same while the SOL value of each one rises.
Q: How do I work out how much I have earned?
A: For a quick view, open Portfolio and switch the chart from USD to SOL. Your mSOL balance never changes, so in SOL terms the line rising is your rewards, with price movement taken out. Steps up or down are deposits and withdrawals, so pick a range where you have not staked or unstaked.
For an exact figure, your rewards are the difference between what each mSOL was worth when you got it and what it is worth now. Take today's mSOL/SOL rate, subtract the rate at the time you staked, and multiply by your mSOL balance. Today's rate is shown in the app on the stake screen. Your original rate comes from your staking transaction in your wallet history or on a Solana explorer: divide the SOL you deposited by the mSOL you received.
If you cannot find your staking transaction or read the numbers on it, use the chart instead with the All range selected, which covers the whole life of your position. Or start a chat with your wallet address and we can work the figure out for you.
Q: I moved my mSOL into another protocol. Does it still earn?
A: Yes. mSOL earns through the exchange rate wherever it sits, including when it is being used as collateral in another protocol. See My mSOL Is in Another Protocol.
Q: Do I need to claim my rewards?
A: No. Rewards compound automatically through exchange rate updates. There is nothing to claim and no deadline to watch.
Q: How long is an epoch?
A: About 2 days. Timing can vary slightly.
Q: I deposited mid-epoch. Do I miss out on rewards?
A: No. Rewards are applied at the pool level after each epoch ends, and you benefit through the updated exchange rate that follows.
Q: Why isn't mSOL in my Staking Rewards Report?
A: mSOL rewards are reflected in the mSOL/SOL exchange rate rather than paid out, so there is nothing to itemize. The in-app Staking Rewards Report covers Marinade Native (SOL rewards) and Marinade Select only.
🎥 Watch the explainer video:
How Marinade Liquid Staking Works (YouTube)