How mSOL accumulates staking rewards
Understand how Marinade’s liquid staking works and why mSOL increases in value instead of showing new tokens in your wallet.
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.
Example:
If you stake 1 SOL and receive 0.78 mSOL today, and you hold that mSOL for a year while APY remains around 8%, you could later unstake it and receive approximately 1.08 SOL. Your wallet will always show 0.78 mSOL, but its value increases in the background.
Important:
If you sell or swap your mSOL, you are trading both the staked SOL and the staking rewards it has earned.
🎥 Watch the explainer video:
How Marinade Liquid Staking Works (YouTube)