Rewards are almost always arriving normally. What changes is where they show up, and they are smaller per epoch than most people expect.
Rewards Are Small Per Epoch
Staking APY is an annual figure, spread across roughly 180 epochs a year, so a single epoch pays about one 180th of the annual rate. At recent rates that works out to roughly 0.03% of your position per epoch.
If you staked | You earn per epoch | Over six days (about 3 epochs) |
1 SOL | ~0.0003 SOL | ~0.0009 SOL |
10 SOL | ~0.003 SOL | ~0.009 SOL |
110 SOL | ~0.03 SOL | ~0.09 SOL |
If you staked a small amount to test, expect the number to look like zero. A 1 SOL position earns less than a thousandth of a SOL per epoch, which most wallets and interfaces will not show as a visible change. That is the display rounding, not a missing reward.
If You Hold mSOL, the Balance Never Grows
This is by design. Your mSOL balance stays fixed and each mSOL becomes redeemable for more SOL over time. Rewards accumulate in the exchange rate, not in your token count.
If you are watching the mSOL number in your wallet, you will never see growth there no matter how long you wait. See How mSOL Accumulates Staking Rewards.
If You Use Marinade Native, Rewards Compound Into the Stake
Native rewards are added to your staked balance each epoch and stay staked, so they compound. Nothing arrives in your wallet as a separate transfer and there is nothing to claim.
If you chose a Recipe reward token instead of SOL, rewards are sent to your wallet each epoch as that token, and your staked SOL balance stays flat on purpose.
The First Reward Takes Longer Than You Expect
Stake must be active for a full epoch before it earns anything. Depending on when you staked, your first reward can be up to about 4 days away.
If your position is under 2 SOL, it can take longer still. Small stake accounts cannot be split, so when Marinade's rebalancer moves them between validators they move whole, and stake moved while still activating starts that period again. See I Deposited But Have No Rewards Yet for the full explanation.
How to Confirm Rewards Are Arriving
Request a staking rewards report, which lists rewards per epoch.
Compare across a month rather than day to day. Single epochs are too small to read reliably.
FAQ
Q: My SOL left my wallet when I staked. Is that normal?
A: Yes. Staking moves SOL out of your spendable balance into a stake position. It is still yours and it shows in the app under your positions.
Q: Are rewards automatically restaked?
A: For mSOL and for Marinade Native paid in SOL, yes, automatically and with no action from you. Recipe reward tokens are paid out to your wallet instead and are not restaked.
Q: If I stake more SOL, does it join my existing position or create a new one?
A: A new deposit usually creates a new stake position. Positions may later be redelegated and merged into a new one as validator rankings change in Marinade's Stake Auction Marketplace. Either way, you do not need to do anything. Marinade handles the delegation and consolidation for you, and your rewards are unaffected by how the positions are arranged.
Q: I unstaked and got back less than I put in. Why?
A: Almost always an instant unstake. Instant unstake costs 0.10% to 0.40% on Marinade Native, Select, and Recipes, which is worth 3 to 13 epochs of rewards. If you staked for less time than that, the fee is larger than what you earned and you come out slightly behind. Delayed unstake is free on those products. See What Fees Does Marinade Charge?
Q: I have staked for a month and see no change at all.
A: Start a conversation and send us your wallet address. We can check per-epoch rewards directly.