Marinade Native, Marinade Recipes, and Marinade Liquid (mSOL) are three separate products. Only Liquid staking issues mSOL. If you are not sure which one you are in, check first below.
Not Sure What You're Staked In?
Open your position in the Marinade app. It is labeled as one of:
Marinade Native: your SOL is delegated directly and stays in your own stake account. Rewards are paid in SOL and compound automatically.
Marinade Recipes: your SOL is staked the same as Native, but your rewards are paid in a token you chose, such as USDC, BTC, or MNDE. Choosing MNDE as your reward token does not give you mSOL. MNDE is Marinade's governance token, unrelated to mSOL, and it is paid to your wallet each epoch rather than compounding.
Marinade Liquid: you hold mSOL itself, a token that represents your staked SOL and its rewards. This is the only product that gives you mSOL.
If your position says Native or Recipes and you expected to see mSOL, that is expected. Neither product issues it.
How To Move to mSOL (from Native or from Recipes)
Open the Marinade app and go to your position.
Choose Unstake. Instant unstake returns your SOL immediately for a dynamic fee, typically 0.10% to 0.40%. Delayed unstake is free and pays out after one epoch, about 2 days.
Once the SOL is in your wallet, go to the Earn tab and click the Marinade Liquid banner below the Marinade Native card (or go directly to https://app.marinade.finance/earn/liquid/).
Stake your SOL there. You receive mSOL, which you can then use in DeFi.
You will have a gap in rewards. Your new mSOL position needs the underlying stake to activate, so plan for roughly one epoch of reduced earning across the switch.
FAQ
Q: Can I keep earning while I switch?
A: No. The SOL has to leave staking before it can be staked again as Liquid. Instant unstake shortens the gap but costs a fee.
Q: I'm on Recipes earning MNDE. Do I lose my MNDE if I switch to Liquid?
A: You keep any MNDE already paid to your wallet. Going forward, Liquid staking pays no MNDE: rewards come through the mSOL exchange rate instead.
Q: Does moving to mSOL change my risk?
A: Yes. Both Native and Recipes have no smart contract exposure since your SOL stays in your own stake accounts. mSOL is a token issued by the Marinade stake pool program, so it carries smart contract risk.
Q: Why does the app show my staked SOL but no mSOL token in my wallet?
A: Because only Liquid staking mints mSOL. See My mSOL Is Missing From My Positions if you expected mSOL from a Liquid stake specifically.