How to Stake Solana (SOL): Native, Liquid or Exchange

What is Solana staking?

Solana is a proof-of-stake network. Its validators are computers, operated by companies and individuals, that run the network and vote on which blocks are valid. The more SOL staked with a validator, the more its vote counts.

Staking means backing a validator with your SOL. Wallets call this delegating. In return the validator passes on its rewards, minus its cut, which is called commission.

Who holds the SOL depends on how you stake:

• Native: your wallet makes a separate stake account for the staked SOL. Only your keys can move it. The validator can’t spend it.
• Liquid: you swap SOL for a token, called an LST, that is worth a bit more SOL each epoch. You can sell it any time.
• Exchange: the exchange holds your SOL and stakes it for you.

Most of the reward is inflation: new SOL the network creates and pays only to staked SOL. A small part comes from MEV tips, which traders pay to get their transactions placed first. Together that’s about 5% a year before your provider’s cut.

Rewards land once per epoch, the network’s reward cycle, which now lasts about a day. Guides that say two days or more were written before the network sped up in October 2026. Each reward is added to your stake and starts earning too, with nothing to claim. So 10 SOL earns about 0.5 SOL a year before commission.

What Alpenglow changed for stakers

Alpenglow, Solana’s new system for agreeing on blocks, went live on 21 October 2026. One thing changed for stakers. Each validator now pays a Validator Admission Ticket of 0.8 SOL every epoch to take part. A validator that can’t pay, or hasn’t upgraded, doesn’t vote that epoch. Its stakers earn nothing for that epoch, but their SOL is untouched.

LST and exchange stakers have nothing to do. Native stakers should check that a reward lands every epoch, which the validator section below covers. Today no slashing rule can take any of your staked SOL, even if your validator misbehaves. A bad validator costs you rewards, not SOL.

Native, liquid or exchange staking: which to pick

The choice comes down to who holds the SOL, how much you need to start, what you pay and how fast you can get out.

Fees and minimums as checked on 2 November 2026.

Every route starts from the same network rate of about 5% a year. What differs is the fees. Live rates move every epoch, so compare them on one site over the same window.

Go native if you have 1 SOL or more, won’t need it for a few days, and want no smart contract between you and your SOL. You keep the keys. You pay only the validator’s commission. Getting out is free after about a day. The Solflare steps are in the next section.

Go liquid if you have under 1 SOL, might need to sell the same day, or want to lend it or add it to a trading pool. JupSOL starts at 0.01 SOL and sells any time. The cost is a slightly bigger stack of fees and the pool’s smart-contract risk. An LST can also sell a little below the SOL behind it (a depeg) when lots of people sell at once. For small amounts, or SOL you might need soon, JupSOL fits better than a native stake.

The 1 SOL minimum catches more people than it sounds. A new stake account now needs at least 1 SOL, though stakes that already existed are unaffected. On 2 November 2026 the median stake account held just 1.09 SOL, and about 832,000 of the 1.2 million stake accounts held under 5 SOL. Under 1 SOL, the liquid route is your way in.

Stake on an exchange only if you won’t move SOL off it. The exchange holds the SOL and keeps a cut. On 100 SOL at about 5%, Coinbase’s 35% leaves you about 3.25 SOL a year. A validator charging 5% leaves about 4.75 SOL. If your SOL is on Coinbase, move it to your own wallet first; it takes a few minutes.

How to stake SOL in Solflare, step by step

Solflare suits native staking for four reasons. It creates native stakes in both the mobile app and the browser extension. It shows each validator’s commission and estimated APY before you pick. It has a free standard unstake plus an instant one. And it works with a Ledger: connect the device and follow the same steps, approving each one on the Ledger.

1. Get SOL into Solflare. Starting from nothing, you’ll need to set up a Solana wallet and buy SOL first.
2. Leave some SOL unstaked. Keep at least 0.01 SOL loose for fees, or you can’t unstake later. The stake account also holds a refundable rent deposit of about 0.0017 SOL. You get it back when you close the account.
3. Open the Staking tab and tap Stake. Enter at least 1 SOL.
4. Pick a validator. Look at commission (0% to 10% is normal) and estimated APY. Skip any validator marked delinquent, meaning it has stopped voting. The full checklist is in the validator section below.
5. Confirm. On mobile you swipe to confirm.
6. Wait for “activating” to turn “active”. That happens at the next epoch boundary, never more than about a day away. Your first reward lands at the end of your first full active epoch.

Getting out. Open the stake account, tap Unstake, wait for the epoch to end (about a day), then tap Withdraw. That’s free. Instant unstake skips the wait by selling your stake for SOL now. It costs 0.5% to 3% depending on available liquidity, so read the quote first. At the top of that range you hand over about seven months of rewards at 5% a year.

Liquid staking: how to stake SOL on Jupiter (JupSOL)

1. Open Jupiter’s stake page and connect a wallet. Stay on the JupSOL tab.
2. Enter the SOL amount. The minimum is 0.01 SOL.
3. Check the quote. You get slightly less than 1 JupSOL per SOL, because each JupSOL is already worth more than 1 SOL. Leave slippage on the default unless the quote fails.
4. Click Get JupSOL and approve in your wallet.

Depositing is free. Jupiter’s validator keeps 5% of inflation rewards and 0% of MEV tips. A further 5% epoch fee comes off base rewards, split between Sanctum and the Jupiter DAO. Rewards raise the JupSOL to SOL rate, so there’s nothing to claim. To get out, sell JupSOL on Jupiter any time, or withdraw through the pool for 0.1%. Delayed unstake takes up to about a day. The stake page shows the current estimated APY.

Other LSTs work the same way: PSOL and JitoSOL in Phantom, bpSOL in Backpack and BNSOL on Binance. Each wallet’s taps are below.

How to stake Solana in other wallets

Every Solana wallet follows the same network rules: 1 SOL minimum for a new native stake, about a day to start earning and about a day to get out. Only the buttons and the validator choice change.

How to stake Solana on Phantom

In the Phantom browser extension, open SOL and choose Start earning SOL (some versions put it under More, then Stake SOL). Pick Native Staking, choose a validator, enter at least 1 SOL and confirm. The same button offers liquid staking into PSOL or JitoSOL.

The phone app is different. On my phone, Start earning SOL opens a screen titled “Introducing Liquid Staking with Phantom Staked Solana”. You deposit SOL into Phantom’s pool, get PSOL, and later redeem it for your SOL plus rewards. That button leads to PSOL liquid staking.

PSOL’s pool takes 0% of rewards and 0% to deposit. Phantom’s validator charges 4% commission, and withdrawing through the pool costs 0.1%. On 2 November 2026 the pool held about 1.63 million SOL, and 1 PSOL was worth 1.105 SOL. That rising rate is how the token pays you.

How to stake Solana on Ledger

Install the Solana app on your Ledger first. Then pick one of two routes:

• In Ledger Wallet (formerly Ledger Live), open your Solana account and select Earn. Choose Ledger by Figment, or Show all for another validator. Enter the amount and approve on the device.
• Connect the Ledger to Solflare and follow the Solflare steps above, with any validator you like.

Either way the keys never leave the device. Older Ledger guides quote 2 to 3 days to unstake; it’s about one epoch now.

How to stake Solana on Trezor

Trezor Suite stakes SOL on the Safe 7, Safe 5, Safe 3 and Model T. Open your Solana account and click the Staking tab, then Start Staking. Read the info, tick the boxes, choose at least 1 SOL and press Confirm & stake. Then Hold to Confirm on the device and press Stake.

Staking goes only to Everstake, so you can’t pick the validator. Warm-up and unstaking each take about a day. To get out, press Unstake, wait about a day, then Claim. Trezor suggests unstaking at least three days before you need the SOL.

How to stake Solana on Tangem

In the Tangem app, open SOL and tap Stake. Enter the amount, then choose a validator. The list is sorted by APR, and Tangem recommends the top one, but you can pick any. Confirm and sign by tapping your Tangem card. Tangem charges no staking fee of its own, only network fees. The 1 SOL network minimum still applies.

How to stake Solana in Trust Wallet

In Trust Wallet, go to Discover, then Earn, then Native Staking. Pick SOL, tap Stake, enter at least 1 SOL and choose a validator. Tap Continue, then Confirm.

Getting out takes two transactions: Unstake, then a separate claim once it clears. Each costs a network fee. Trust Wallet’s help still says 2 to 4 days; with today’s epochs, expect about a day.

Backpack and the Jupiter wallet

In Backpack, open SOL, choose to stake, then Native Staking. Pick a validator and enter at least 1 SOL plus the small deposit. Or choose liquid staking and swap SOL to bpSOL, from 0.01 SOL.

In the Jupiter wallet, the simple route is swapping SOL to JupSOL in the app.

How to stake Solana on Coinbase, Robinhood and other exchanges

On an exchange, the exchange holds your SOL, stakes it and keeps part of the rewards. For the exchanges named here at balances under $1 million, the cut runs from 25% (Robinhood, Kraken bonded) to 35% (Coinbase standard), and Binance doesn’t publish its rate. Check whether the rate shown is before or after that cut, because it varies by exchange.

• Coinbase: staking sits on the SOL asset page; enter an amount and confirm. Coinbase keeps 35% of rewards as standard, and Coinbase One tiers keep 31.75%, 28.5% or 25.25%. At about 5% that leaves you about 3.25% a year. Unstaking is free, and the app shows the estimated wait before you confirm.
• Robinhood: on the SOL page tap Get started with staking, choose SOL, then Stake. Enter an amount and confirm. Robinhood keeps 25% of your staking rewards. Staking isn’t offered in California, Maryland, New Jersey or Wisconsin. Most unstakes finish in about a day, though Robinhood warns it can take weeks.
• Kraken: flexible staking lets you leave any time; bonded pays more but has an unbonding wait. Kraken lists separate flexible and bonded SOL rates, so check whether the rate shown is before or after its commission. That commission is 30% on flexible and 25% on bonded for balances under $1 million.
• Binance: staking SOL gives you BNSOL, Binance’s own LST, which grows against SOL each epoch. You can redeem it through Binance or trade it. Binance doesn’t publish its commission on the staking page, so check the rate in the app.
• Crypto.com: the app shows its own SOL staking rate. Crypto.com’s separate self-custody wallet offers native staking from its Earn tab, with a 5% commission. Its product page lists a 0.01 SOL minimum, but that predates the 1 SOL network rule, so check the minimum in the app.

How to pick a validator after Alpenglow

Look a validator up on Stakewiz or validators.app and check four things:

• Commission: 0% to 10% is normal. Check its history too. A validator can raise commission as far as 100%, and you earn less until you move.
• MEV commission: a separate cut some validators take from MEV tips. Validators that pass tips through pay stakers a little more.
• Skip rate and uptime: skip rate is how often a validator misses blocks it should have made. Missed votes and blocks cut rewards. A delinquent validator earns nothing, so avoid it or leave.
• Size: skip the very largest validators. It spreads stake out and keeps the network harder to halt, at no cost to you.

The test that matters most now is simple. Once your stake is active, it should earn a reward at the end of every epoch. Since Alpenglow, a validator that misses its 0.8 SOL ticket earns you nothing that epoch. If a full active epoch passes with no reward, move. You can see the reward history in your wallet or on a block explorer. That’s the one check I’d never skip: 0% commission means nothing if the validator has stopped earning.

Solana staking rewards and APY

On 2 November 2026 the network paid 5.08% a year before commission, by Solana Compass’s figures: 5.00% from inflation and 0.08% from MEV tips. Your native rate is that minus your validator’s commission.

LSTs quote their rate after pool fees. Some also add priority fees, the extra fees paid for faster transactions. Most validators keep priority fees. JupSOL’s validator passes its share to holders, which is why its rate can be higher. APY counts rewards earning rewards; APR doesn’t. To compare routes, read them on one site over the same window, never a one-epoch figure against a 10-epoch one.

Solana staking calculator: what 10 and 100 SOL earn

At about 5% a year, before compounding:

• 100 SOL with a 0% validator: about 5.0 SOL a year.
• 100 SOL with a 5% validator: about 4.75 SOL.
• 100 SOL on Coinbase at 35%: about 3.25 SOL.
• 10 SOL with a 0% validator: about 0.5 SOL.

At SOL’s $93.04 on 2 November 2026, those come to roughly $465, $442, $302 and $47. Rewards are paid in SOL, so their dollar value moves with the price.

The inflation cut that is coming

Inflation is about 3.6% a year across all SOL today, but it is paid only to staked SOL, which is why stakers earn more, about 5.00%. It shrinks by 15% each year toward a 1.5% floor, so staking yields drift lower even when nothing else changes. On 28 August 2026 a validator vote (SGP-0002) passed to double that yearly cut to 30%. That would bring the floor around mid-2029 instead of about 2032. It isn’t switched on yet and has no activation date.

Is staking still worth it? New SOL goes only to staked SOL, so unstaked SOL’s share of the supply shrinks while staked SOL keeps pace. Staking earns you more SOL. It doesn’t protect you if the price falls.

How long staking and unstaking take

A new stake activates at the next epoch boundary, at most about a day away, and earns from then on. Unstaking runs on the same clock: you deactivate, wait for the epoch to end, then withdraw. So it’s about a day in and about a day out. Guides that say 2 to 4 days, some wallet help pages included, predate October 2026. When a lot of stake is moving at once, it can take an extra epoch.

By route:

• Solflare standard: about a day, free.
• Solflare instant: now, for 0.5% to 3%.
• JupSOL: sell now, or delayed unstake in up to about a day for 0.1%.
• PSOL: sell now, or withdraw through the pool for 0.1%.
• Trust Wallet: unstake, then claim once it clears.
• Trezor: about a day, but Trezor suggests starting three days ahead.
• Kraken flexible: any time.
• Coinbase: the app shows the estimate before you confirm.
• Robinhood: usually about a day, longer in busy periods.

Putting an LST to work

An LST is a token, so it can do a second job in DeFi. You can lend it out or borrow against it for a second layer of yield. Borrowing carries liquidation risk: if SOL drops far enough, the lender sells your collateral.

You can also LP it with SOL. A JupSOL-SOL pool on Meteora (referral link) pairs two assets that move together, so impermanent loss, the value you lose when the two prices drift apart, stays small, and you earn trading fees on top of staking. Meteora’s DLMM pools let you choose the price range your liquidity covers. The JupSOL-SOL pool Jupiter links to is small, so check its volume before you add much.

Mistakes that cost stakers money

• Staking your whole balance. Keep at least 0.01 SOL loose, or you can’t pay the fee to unstake.
• Picking the highest APY shown. Commission can rise and validators can stop earning, so check the history and the per-epoch rewards.
• Answering staking DMs or “boost your APY” sites. Wallets and validators never message you first, and staking never asks for your seed phrase.
• Forgetting that SOL staked on an exchange belongs to the exchange until you withdraw it.
• Paying for instant unstake out of habit. At up to 3%, waiting a day is usually worth it.

FAQ

Can I stake less than 1 SOL?

Not natively. New stake accounts need at least 1 SOL. Use JupSOL (from 0.01 SOL), PSOL or bpSOL instead. They all start from the same network rate.

How often are Solana staking rewards paid?

Once per epoch, so about once a day. Native rewards are added to your stake automatically. LST rewards show up as a rising token value.

Is staking Solana safe? Can you lose money?

Natively staked SOL never leaves your control, and no slashing is switched on today. The real risks are a validator that stops earning or raises commission, LST smart-contract bugs, an LST selling below its value in a rush, the exchange itself if you stake there, and scams. Staking also doesn’t protect you from SOL’s price falling.

Can I switch validators without unstaking?

Not in one step. Unstake, wait for the epoch to end, then stake with the new validator. To move only part of a stake, split the account first. In Solflare that works on accounts over 2 SOL, because both parts must keep at least 1 SOL.

Can I stake with more than one validator?

Yes. Each stake account backs one validator, so make one account per validator, each with at least 1 SOL.

Does JupSOL or native staking on Jupiter earn more?

It comes down to fees. JupSOL also collects priority fees, but pays the 5% epoch fee and 0.1% to exit through the pool. A native stake with Jupiter’s validator pays only the 5% commission on inflation rewards. Jupiter’s stake page shows both estimates side by side, and it currently shows JupSOL ahead (5.18% against 4.79% for native), because only JupSOL holders share in priority fees. This isn’t the same as staking JUP, Jupiter’s own token.

Can you mine Solana or get free SOL?

No. Solana isn’t mined, and staking is how holders earn new SOL. Treat “claim free SOL” sites and DMs as scams.

Are staking rewards taxed?

In many countries, rewards count as income when you receive them, and selling later can bring a gain or loss. Check the rules where you live.