Growing up, we were always taught to save and invest for the future. For our parents and grandparents, that often meant putting money into Fixed Deposits. But today, with rising inflation, shaky stock markets, and even bank collapses, those traditional methods feel less reliable.

Working in Web3 for the past three years, I’ve come to trust blockchain systems more and like many others in the space, I invested in $SOL, one of the most promising and high-performing tokens out there. During a dip in the market, I picked up some $SOL and let it sit in my wallet, hoping it would grow. After a couple of months, with little price movement, I discovered a new feature in my Web3 wallet: Stake to Earn. Offering 7–8% yield just for staking.

Thinking it was better than letting it sit idle, I staked my tokens. But when I needed to use them during a hackathon, I realized they were locked, illiquid and I couldn't access them in time. That’s when a crypto friend of mine told me about Liquid Staking. A way to earn staking rewards while still keeping your tokens usable in DeFi. That one conversation changed how I looked at staking forever.

Liquid Staking on Solana.

Staking is at the heart of how the Solana blockchain works.

Solana uses a Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, where validators verify transactions and maintain the network. To support them, stakers (like you and me) delegate their SOL tokens to validators, helping secure the network and in return, earning a yield of 7–8% annually.

But there’s a catch: when you stake your SOL traditionally, it becomes illiquid. You can’t use it in DeFi, transfer it, or even move it instantly. Unstaking takes time and in fast-paced markets or during hackathons, that delay can be a deal-breaker.

This is exactly the problem I ran into. And that’s where Liquid Staking steps in as a game-changer.

Under the Hood.

With Liquid Staking, instead of delegating your SOL directly to a validator, you deposit it into a stake pool or smart contract.

In return, you receive a LST or Liquid Staking Token (a token that represents the staked amount of a cryptocurrency on a Proof-of-Stake blockchain). For example, $bSOL from SolBlaze, which represents your staked SOL.

Here’s what makes this powerful:

Your SOL still earns staking rewards, just like traditional staking.
But the LST (like $bSOL) you receive is liquid. You can trade it, lend it, use it in DeFi or even swap it instantly if needed.
This gives you the best of both worlds: Staking rewards + DeFi opportunities.

Simply put,

	Traditional/Native Staking	Liquid Staking
Method	Delegate $SOL directly to a validator.	Delegate $SOL to a smart contract or a staking pool.
Reward Distribution	Amount of $SOL increases over time as rewards are accrued.	Price of LST increases over time as rewards are accrued.
Unstaking Period	Up to 3 days	Instant
Liquid for DeFi	No🚫	Yes✅

It’s a smarter, more flexible way to grow your SOL. Especially on a high-performance blockchain like Solana, where composability and speed matter.

Deep Dive into SolBlaze’s Ecosystem.

SolBlaze has emerged as a prominent player in the liquid staking space on Solana, providing a unique combination of smart staking mechanics with community-first governance and open-source values.

A modular liquid staking ecosystem anchored by a suite of products like:

BlazeStake: SolBlaze’s Liquid Staking solution, a liquid staking pool where stakers can earn rewards, join community airdrops, support Solana projects and use their tokens in DeFi apps.
BlazeRewards: The first global rewards program for SOL liquid staking on Solana. Just stake with BlazeStake or use bSOL in DeFi to start earning rewards.
Bliq: A tool on Solana that lets you create your own custom liquid staking token (LST). You can stake or unstake with it, share it through a discovery page and easily track all your LST holdings in one place.
Status: Solana RPC status page that shows how often different RPC providers like Triton One, GenesysGo, QuickNode, Ankr and Blockdaemon are online and working properly.
Token Minter: An easy-to-use token minter that lets you create your own SPL token on Solana. It uploads your token info to Metaplex and let’s you customize how your token looks and works.
SOL Pay SDK: A fully non-custodial Solana payments SDK in JavaScript. It lets developers easily add Solana payments to their apps, with transactions going straight from users to developers without any middlemen.

Whether you're a Staker, DeFi user or Validator, SolBlaze offers tools to actively participate in shaping the future of Liquid Staking on Solana.

How BlazeStake Powers Liquid Staking.

BlazeStake is the core liquid staking protocol within the SolBlaze ecosystem, designed to make staking on Solana more accessible, decentralized and DeFi-friendly.

It allows users to stake their SOL and receive a liquid staking token, $bSOL in return. A token that represents their staked position and can be freely used across various Solana DeFi protocols.

Here are quick steps on how you can liquid stake your $SOL with BlazeStake:

Step 1: Head over to BlazeStake App.
Step 2: Connect your WEB3 Solana wallet. (From over 12 wallet options)
Step 3: Select the amount of $SOL, you would like to stake.
Step 4: Click on “Stake” & approve the transaction in your wallet.

After the transaction is completed, you’ll receive $bSOL in your wallet.

User-Controlled Delegation & Custom Liquid Staking.

While BlazeStake offers a default validator set (200+) for optimized staking, it doesn’t stop there.

SolBlaze takes it a step further by introducing Custom Liquid Staking, giving users more control over where their $SOL is staked without losing access to liquid staking rewards.

With Custom Liquid Staking, users can choose a specific validator to delegate to and still receive $bSOL in return. This means you’re no longer limited to the protocol's curated validator set — you can directly support:

Solo validators who rely on grassroots delegation.
Validator communities looking to grow their presence on Solana.
Or even your own node, if you're running one.

This feature is especially powerful in strengthening decentralization on the network by putting the power of delegation into the hands of stakers, not just the protocol.

Airdrop Strategies & Incentive Mechanism.

One of the reasons SolBlaze has seen strong community growth and organic adoption is its innovative incentive design. Blending staking rewards, DeFi participation and governance into a unified flywheel.

At the heart of this model lies airdrop strategies and $BLZE-based incentives that reward users not just for staking, but for contributing to the long-term health of the ecosystem.

SolBlaze has introduced a recurring airdrop system where active participants in the ecosystem — particularly those staking $SOL through BlazeStake to receive $bSOL are eligible for $BLZE rewards. These rewards are distributed based on on-chain activity and real contribution, including:

Staking SOL via BlazeStake.
Holding and using $bSOL in DeFi protocols.
Providing liquidity on supported platforms like Raydium or Meteora.
Participating in governance by voting through BLZE gauges.

$BLZE, the native token of SolBlaze, powers the incentive system and aligns long-term participation with network growth. It acts as both a reward token and a governance token, enabling holders to:

Vote on validator delegation through BLZE Gauges.
Influence protocol parameters and reward distributions.
Earn staking rewards by participating in the ecosystem.

By integrating $BLZE into both governance and reward mechanics, SolBlaze creates a feedback loop where active users benefit the most — fostering a healthy, decentralized, and engaged community.

Instead of one-off airdrops based on simple holding snapshots, SolBlaze prioritizes ongoing, activity-based airdrops that encourage real usage. This approach avoids the pitfalls of mercenary capital and ensures that rewards go to long-term users, builders, validators and DeFi participants who strengthen the protocol.

In essence, SolBlaze’s airdrop strategy isn’t just about distributing tokens it’s about rewarding aligned behavior.

BLZE Gauges.

In addition to direct delegation, SolBlaze introduces BLZE Gauges — a governance mechanism inspired by liquidity mining models. $BLZE holders can vote on how the protocol distributes delegation across validators, effectively influencing the flow of staked SOL in a decentralized way.

Here’s how it works:

Each validator in the ecosystem has a gauge.
$BLZE token holders vote for their preferred validators by assigning their tokens to these gauges.
The more votes a validator gets, the more stake they receive from BlazeStake’s default delegation pool.

This model ties validator rewards to community support and active governance, rather than centralized control. It also introduces a liquidity mining dynamic to staking — making $BLZE a powerful tool for validators who want to attract delegation by aligning with community values.

Together, Custom Liquid Staking and BLZE Gauges empower both stakers and validators, creating a more participatory, decentralized, and flexible staking ecosystem on Solana.

Using $bSOL in DeFi.

By transforming staked $SOL into a liquid token, $bSOL empowers users to earn staking rewards and participate in DeFi simultaneously. This dual utility unlocks powerful new strategies for capital efficiency.

Currently, $bSOL is supported across several leading Solana protocols:

On Jupiter, users can swap into or out of $bSOL with optimal routing and deep liquidity.
On Raydium and Meteora, $bSOL is used in liquidity pools, allowing users to earn trading fees and liquidity mining rewards.
Kamino has integrated $bSOL into its vaults, offering auto-compounding strategies designed to maximize yield.
With Solend, $bSOL can be used as collateral to borrow assets like $USDC or $SOL, effectively unlocking staked value without giving up rewards.

This broad integration unlocks real-world utility for $bSOL, helps decentralize the staking ecosystem, enhances liquidity and drives greater DeFi adoption on Solana.

Validator Economics & Protocol Sustainability.

Other than serving users, SolBlaze is also designed to strengthen the validator ecosystem on Solana, redistributing stake more equitably and aligning incentives for long-term sustainability. By supporting lower-fee, high-performance validators and introducing mechanisms like custom delegation and BLZE Gauges, SolBlaze plays a pivotal role in decentralizing stake distribution and empowering solo operators.

At its core, BlazeStake routes user-staked SOL across a carefully curated set of validators. The delegation strategy prioritizes:

Zero-commission validators, ensuring rewards go to stakers.
Validators with high uptime and consistent performance.
Decentralized operators, including solo validators who are often overlooked by large staking pools.

Through custom delegation, users can choose exactly which validator their SOL should be delegated to while still receiving liquid staking benefits via $bSOL. This opens up powerful new dynamics where smaller validators can attract stake based on their reputation, community presence and support from $BLZE voters.

This model breaks away from the typical “top 30 TVL race” and gives power back to the community and smaller validators.

Setting the Stage.

While many blockchain networks offer liquid staking options, each protocol brings its own unique features, trade-offs, and integrations. On Solana, liquid staking has evolved rapidly, with several providers offering powerful alternatives to traditional staking. Let’s explore some of the most prominent liquid staking protocols on Solana today like Jito, Marinade, SolBlaze and MarginFi.

Over the past few years, these protocols have played a key role in improving capital efficiency for SOL holders, giving them ways to earn staking rewards while participating in the broader DeFi ecosystem.

Jito carved out a niche by capturing MEV in a more efficient and transparent way, offering stakers exposure to both staking and MEV rewards via JitoSOL.
Marinade, the OG liquid staking protocol on Solana, introduced mSOL and helped onboard users to DeFi with wide integrations and a dual staking model.
SolBlaze brought in massive validator coverage and customizable delegation strategies, giving users more control over their staking.
MarginFi, better known for lending, launched its LST with a no-fee, high-yield strategy that targets DeFi-native users looking to loop and borrow.

But where do they differ? And more importantly, what sets SolBlaze apart?

Here’s a side-by-side look:

Feature	Jito	Marinade	MarginiFi	SolBlaze
Liquid Token	$JitoSOL	$mSOL	$LST	$bSOL
MEV Integration	✅ Yes (via Jito-Solana client)	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes (MEV yield shared)
Validator Strategy	MEV-focused	Stake score-based	Single Validator	200+ Validator (Community focused delegation)
Custom Delegation	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes
Smart Contract Audits	✅ Audited	✅ Audited	❕Limited info	✅ Multiple Audits (Solana Labs) + Open Source
Fee Structure	~5% Protocol fee on MEV	~6% protocol fee	0% protocol fees	0% protocol fees
DeFi Integration	Growing (Jupiter, Solend, etc.)	Growing	Moderate	Expanding rapidly (Jupiter, kamino, MarginiFi, etc.)
Extra Rewards	MEV Rewards	$MNDE Governance tokens	$LST Yields	BlazePoints + DAO Airdrops.
DAO Participation	❌ No	✅ Marinade DAO	❌ No	✅ Blaze DAO (Realms based)

As you can see, each protocol has its strengths, but SolBlaze stands out for its combination of:

MEV yield sharing (like Jito),
DAO governance (like Marinade),
No protocol fees (like MarginFi),
along with Validator diversity & more decentralization,
And extra incentives like BlazePoints, airdrops and blazing-fast DeFi integrations.

This unique blend positions SolBlaze not just as another stake pool, but as a community-first, performance-driven ecosystem powering the future of staking on Solana.

The Future: Bliq Protocol.

SolBlaze is laying the foundation for a modular, permissionless staking economy on Solana.

At the heart of that vision lies Bliq, a protocol designed to unlock the next wave of innovation in liquid staking. Bliq will enable anyone — developers, DAOs, validators or even games to launch their own Liquid Staking Token (LST) with built-in integrations, composability and economic control.

Whether it’s a validator looking to launch their own LST or a DAO building a native staking layer, Bliq provides the infrastructure to make it happen.

Some of the most exciting use cases include:

Validator-specific LSTs: Let individual validators launch branded, incentive-aligned LSTs that reward their community.
DAO-controlled LSTs: Enable governance tokens to direct staking rewards and validator selection.
App-native or ecosystem-native LSTs: A game, a rollup or a DeFi app can issue its own LST to capture value within its ecosystem.
Dynamic reward routing: Stake flows and rewards can be routed based on real-time governance, metrics or use-case specific logic.

Bliq is built composability-first making any new LST launched through it is immediately compatible with Solana DeFi. That includes lending markets, DEXs, vaults and more.

And all of this is offered using a permissionless SDK that lets anyone spin up their own staking token, complete with:

Custom logic for validator delegation, reward mechanisms and rebasing.
Governance controls, including emission schedules and voting.
Branded tokens, backed by staked SOL and tailored for specific communities or projects.

Simply visit 👉 Bliq & transform liquid staking into a modular, programmable layer where projects, DAOs and validators can build their own staking economies, aligned with their values and incentives.

Ecosystem Growth.

In just a few years, Solana DeFi has grown from $250 million to nearly $12 billion in TVL. A staggering rise that reflects both the network’s potential and the strength of its ecosystem. But what’s even more exciting is what’s coming next and SolBlaze is trying to be right at the center of it.

With innovations like BlazeStake, custom delegation, bSOL DeFi integrations and the Bliq Protocol, SolBlaze is actively reshaping how liquid staking works on Solana. It’s not just about earning yields, it also helps:

Giving more power to users and validators,
Making staking more composable and flexible,
Bringing real utility & decentralization to the heart of DeFi,
Lending protocols with more collateral flowing in &
AMMs get deeper liquidity pools.

As the ecosystem evolves, I believe these modular, permissionless and community-first approaches will help Solana scale even faster not just in TVL, but in quality, resilience and decentralization.

SolBlaze is building infrastructure for the next wave of DeFi, staking and on-chain innovation.

The Liquid Staking Guide.

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