Solana Restaking and LSTs: Jito vs Marinade vs Sanctum

Solana's liquid staking market has split into three real strategies: MEV-boosted staking through Jito, decentralized validator staking through Marinade, and unified LST liquidity through Sanctum. Choosing between them is not really a "which is best" question. It is a question of what you actually want from your staked SOL: raw yield, validator decentralization, or instant access to liquidity across dozens of LSTs. Jito's own restaking layer adds a fourth variable, letting JitoSOL and other LSTs secure additional networks for extra yield, but also extra smart-contract exposure. This guide breaks down how each protocol works, where the yield actually comes from, and which one fits different types of Solana users.

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Why This Comparison Matters

Native SOL staking locks your tokens and forces you to wait through a multi-day unbonding period to get them back. Liquid staking tokens (LSTs) solve that by giving you a tradable receipt token that keeps earning rewards while you use it elsewhere in DeFi. A liquid staking token represents a claim on staked SOL plus accrued rewards, but the token itself trades freely, letting users stake, earn validator rewards, and use the LST as collateral, LP, or trading capital without unlocking the underlying SOL.

The problem is that not all LSTs behave the same way. Jito's stake pool auto-rebalances delegation across roughly 200 vetted validators and captures MEV tips that lift jitoSOL's effective APY above non-MEV LSTs, while Marinade delegates across a more decentralized set of over 100 validators chosen by an algorithmic scoring model, trading a modest yield gap for lower validator concentration risk. Sanctum takes a different approach entirely, acting as shared infrastructure for the whole LST market instead of issuing its own dominant token.

Restaking adds another layer on top. Restaking lets already-staked assets secure additional networks and generate extra rewards without being unstaked, a model that started with EigenLayer on Ethereum and now runs on Solana through Jito Restaking. That extra yield does not come free. It comes with new smart-contract and slashing risk you need to evaluate separately from base staking risk.

If you are new to LSTs, our guide on doing your first yield farm on Solana using Marinade Finance walks through the basic mechanics of staking mSOL and deploying it into a farm. This article goes further, comparing Jito, Marinade, and Sanctum directly and covering the restaking layer that sits on top of them.

Image source: defillama.com/protocols/liquid-staking/solana

How Each Protocol Actually Works

Jito is Solana's largest liquid staking protocol by TVL. It issues JitoSOL and layers MEV revenue on top of standard staking rewards. Validators running the Jito-Solana client operate an out-of-protocol block-building auction that surfaces MEV tips, which flow back to the pool and lift JitoSOL's yield roughly a few dozen basis points above non-MEV LSTs. Our deeper breakdown of what Jito is and how JitoSOL differs from regular SOL staking covers the MEV mechanism in more detail if you want the full picture.

Jito charges for this. JitoSOL charges an annual management fee equal to 4% of total rewards, applied to staking rewards and MEV revenue after validator commissions, which works out to roughly 0.3% of deposited SOL's value per year, plus a 0.1% withdrawal fee for direct unstaking through the website that can be avoided by trading JitoSOL on a DEX instead.

Marinade is the original Solana LST, and its priority is validator decentralization rather than maximum yield. Marinade delegates across roughly 100+ validators selected by an algorithmic scoring model that penalizes centralization, downtime, and commission spikes, and since it does not capture MEV, its headline APY typically trails Jito by 30 to 60 basis points, but the validator set is the most decentralized among major LSTs. Marinade also runs a native staking option. Marinade Native lets a depositor keep direct validator ownership while still using Marinade's delegation strategy, which is useful for users who want staking rewards without smart-contract custody risk. According to Marinade's own documentation, liquid staking currently carries a 0% protocol fee on rewards, native staking has a 0% management fee, instant unstake runs roughly 0.1% to 0.3% through the liquidity pool, and delayed unstake is free. Worth noting: Marinade's fee has moved before through governance, including a period where the protocol proposed raising management fees, so check current rates before assuming 0% is permanent.

Sanctum does not compete for the biggest single LST. Instead, it built the liquidity layer that every other LST plugs into. Sanctum's product suite includes the Infinity Pool for multi-LST liquidity with zero-slippage swaps, a Router for instant LST-to-LST swaps via stake account routing, a Reserve for instant SOL liquidity on withdrawals, and infrastructure for launching custom LSTs, supporting over 1,300 LSTs total. Infinity holds a basket of LSTs, and each epoch those LSTs earn MEV, block rewards, and priority fees, with that value accruing inside the pool's INF token proportional to what it holds. Fees are structured differently from a standard LST too. Deposits into the Infinity Pool are free, but swaps carry a flat input and output fee measured in basis points; for example, a 2 bps input fee plus a 4 bps output fee on one hypothetical swap. The Router charges separately. Router swaps cost the stake pool's own fee plus a flat 0.01% router fee on the output amount, though SOL-to-LST swaps skip the router fee entirely.

Protocol Comparison

Jito Restaking: What It Adds and What It Risks

Jito's restaking product is a separate layer from JitoSOL staking, and it is easy to confuse the two. Jito Restaking is a multi-asset staking protocol for Node Consensus Networks, or NCNs, and it tokenizes staked assets as Vault Receipt Tokens, or VRTs, for enhanced liquidity and composability. You deposit LSTs like JitoSOL, KySOL, mSOL, or bSOL into a Jito vault, receive VRTs in return, and those VRTs can be used across DeFi without sacrificing the underlying staking rewards.

The economic logic is straightforward. NCNs are networks that need security and infrastructure but do not want to bootstrap their own validator set from scratch, so they rent it from already-staked SOL, and restakers earn extra rewards from validating these new networks on top of their base staking yield.

This is where the risk profile changes meaningfully. Restaking is not "free extra yield." Every NCN you help secure is a separate smart contract with its own slashing conditions and its own attack surface. If an NCN's logic has a bug, or if a node operator misbehaves, restaked capital in that vault can be penalized even though the underlying LST itself is fine. Before restaking any LST through Jito or a similar product, check:

• Which specific NCNs the vault is securing and whether they have been independently audited
• What the slashing conditions are and whether they have ever been triggered
• Whether the VRT you receive is liquid enough to exit without a discount
• How new the NCN is, since newer networks carry more operational risk than established ones
• Whether the extra yield is paid in a volatile token versus SOL, which adds price risk on top of protocol risk

How to Evaluate These Protocols Before Depositing

Yield numbers change weekly, so do not anchor a decision on this week's APY alone. Look at the structural factors instead:

• Validator concentration: a protocol delegating to 20 validators carries more slashing and censorship risk than one spread across 100+
• Fee transparency: check whether fees are fixed or governance-adjustable, since a 0% fee today can change with a future proposal
• Liquidity depth: thin LST liquidity means wider spreads or longer waits when you want to exit
• Audit history: confirm which firms audited the protocol and whether audits cover the specific product you are using, not just the base LST
• Track record under stress: check how the LST's peg held up during past network congestion or outage events, since Solana has had multiple network halts historically

Image source: defillama.com/protocols/liquid-staking/solana

Best Choice by User Type

Common Mistakes

• Comparing headline APY without accounting for fees, since a 4% fee on rewards is not the same as a 4% fee on principal, but it still meaningfully changes net yield over a year
• Restaking an LST through a new NCN without checking whether that NCN has been audited or has live slashing history
• Assuming an LST's peg to SOL is guaranteed, when in reality it depends on liquidity depth and can widen during network stress
• Treating Sanctum's INF token like a single LST, when it is actually a basket that inherits the combined risk profile of every LST inside it
• Ignoring validator concentration because a protocol's headline yield looks attractive, then discovering later that a large share of stake sits with one or two operators

When Restaking Makes Sense (And When It Doesn't)

Restaking makes sense if you already understand base LST risk, you are comfortable evaluating individual NCNs on their own merits, and the extra yield is meaningful relative to the added complexity. It does not make sense if you are new to Solana DeFi, if you cannot explain what specific network your restaked capital is securing, or if the NCN is unaudited and new. Extra yield on an immature restaking layer is compensation for real risk, not free money.

My Take

For most people staking SOL without a specific reason to do otherwise, Marinade is the safer default. The fee structure has historically been more favorable, the validator set is the most decentralized of the major options, and there is no restaking layer to evaluate on top of base staking risk. If you specifically want the highest simple staking yield and are comfortable with a more concentrated, MEV-aware validator set, JitoSOL is the stronger pick, and its liquidity and DeFi integration are hard to beat.

Sanctum is not really a competitor to either. It is infrastructure that makes both of them more useful, and if you already hold multiple LSTs or actively trade between them, routing through Sanctum's Infinity Pool or Router will usually beat manually unstaking and restaking through SOL. Treat it as a tool that sits on top of your LST choice, not a replacement for one.

On Jito Restaking specifically: I would only put capital into it after checking each NCN individually, not because the base concept is bad, but because the layer is young and slashing conditions vary by network. Start small, watch how a vault performs for a few epochs, and only scale up once you have seen it behave as documented. Chasing the highest advertised restaking APY without doing that homework is how people end up holding an illiquid VRT tied to a network they never actually researched.

Conclusion

Jito, Marinade, and Sanctum solve different problems even though they all fall under "Solana liquid staking." Jito optimizes for yield through MEV capture, Marinade optimizes for validator decentralization and fee simplicity, and Sanctum optimizes for liquidity across the entire LST ecosystem rather than competing for TVL in a single token. Restaking through Jito adds a genuine yield opportunity, but it also adds a new risk layer that has nothing to do with the underlying LST's safety record. Before committing capital anywhere in this stack, check the current fee structure, the validator concentration, and, if restaking, the specific NCN's audit and slashing history rather than relying on last week's APY screenshot.

FAQs

1. Is JitoSOL riskier than mSOL?

JitoSOL concentrates delegation across roughly 200 MEV-aware validators while Marinade spreads across 100+ validators chosen for decentralization, so JitoSOL carries somewhat more validator concentration risk. Both are non-custodial and independently audited, so the practical risk difference is smaller than the yield difference.

2. Can I lose money using Sanctum's Infinity Pool?

Yes, primarily through smart-contract risk in the pool itself or a depeg event in one of the LSTs held inside INF. Infinity's design reduces slippage risk compared to a standard two-asset AMM, but it does not eliminate protocol or oracle risk.

3. Does Jito Restaking put my JitoSOL at risk of slashing?

Only the amount you actively deposit into a specific restaking vault is exposed to that vault's NCN and its slashing conditions. JitoSOL held outside a restaking vault is not exposed to NCN-level slashing.

4. Why does Marinade's fee sometimes show as 0% and sometimes as higher in older sources?

Marinade's fee structure is set through DAO governance and has changed over time, including a past proposal to raise management fees before later returning to 0% on liquid staking rewards. Always check Marinade's current documentation rather than relying on older articles.

5. Should a beginner use Jito Restaking?

Generally no, since restaking adds NCN-specific smart-contract and slashing risk on top of base LST risk that a beginner may not be equipped to evaluate. A simpler path is starting with base liquid staking through Marinade or Jito before layering on restaking once you understand how NCNs and VRTs work.

References

Sanctum: Best Solana Liquid Staking Platforms 2026 Guide: https://sanctum.so/blog/top-solana-liquid-staking-platforms-2026

Eco: Best Solana Liquid Staking Comparison: https://eco.com/support/en/articles/15083165-best-solana-liquid-staking-comparison

Datawallet: Top 10 Solana Staking Statistics and Trends 2026: https://www.datawallet.com/crypto/solana-staking-statistics-and-trends

Made on Sol: Best Solana Liquid Staking 2026, APY, TVL, and Risk Compared: https://madeonsol.com/compare-liquid-staking

Jito: JitoSOL Glossary: https://go.jito.network/docs/jitosol/resources/jitosol-glossary/

Kiln: Discover Jito Restaking, Unlocking Additional Rewards on Solana: https://www.kiln.fi/post/discover-jito-restaking-unlocking-additional-rewards-on-solana

Sanctum Learn: A Deep Dive into the Economics of Sanctum Infinity: https://learn.sanctum.so/blog/a-deep-dive-into-the-economics-of-sanctum-infinity

Sanctum Learn: Fee Mechanism of Router: https://learn.sanctum.so/docs/protocol/the-router/fee-mechanism-of-router.

Marinade Finance: Marinade vs Jito: https://marinade.finance/blog/marinade-vs-jito

Skills.sh: Sanctum Development Guide: https://skills.sh/sendaifun/skills/sanctum

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Chanuka is a content writer, editor and contributor at Panaprium, specializing in long-form editorial articles. He conducts in-depth research and produces well-structured, carefully edited content with a strong focus on clarity, SEO best practices, and consistent formatting. His work spans lifestyle, fashion, wellness, and technical topics, and all articles are reviewed and refined to meet Panaprium’s editorial standards.