Solana’s liquid staking ecosystem is gaining momentum, with Xandeum leading the charge following the successful conclusion of its six-week staking program. The initiative, which distributed 205 million XAND tokens as rewards, saw 68% of Xandeum’s circulating supply staked as users flocked to earn a share of the generous APY of up to 16% on offer.
Liquid Staking Gains Ground on Solana
Liquid staking has become a cornerstone of decentralized finance, allowing users to earn staking rewards while maintaining liquidity through LSTs representing their staked assets. While Ethereum’s liquid staking sector has been a driving force behind DeFi’s growth, Solana’s equivalent has lagged until recently. However, with protocols like Xandeum offering competitive yields and innovative reward systems, the landscape is changing.
Xandeum’s program has shown that liquid staking on Solana has significant room to grow once suitable incentives are in place. By providing double-digit APYs, Xandeum has made a compelling case for users to stake their SOL while enjoying the flexibility to utilize liquid staking tokens elsewhere in the Solana ecosystem.
The Mechanics of Xandeum Staking
Xandeum’s staking program has differentiated itself through a rewards model that combines standard staking rewards with additional incentives, including MEV rewards, block rewards, and XAND token distributions. This multi-layered approach has resulted in a generous APY that’s surpassed that of other leading Solana staking protocols.
Over $7 million worth of SOL was staked during the six-week initiative, demonstrating the demand for secure, high-yield staking options. Xandeum’s innovative use of MEV rewards and equitable fee distribution set a new benchmark for what users can expect from staking protocols. The equitable distribution of MEV rewards ensured stakers received maximum value and helped to grow TVL. It also served to raise anticipation for the launch of Xandeum’s data storage layer in Q1.
All pool fees generated during the program were transferred to the Xandeum DAO treasury, where XAND token holders have governance rights. This community-driven approach aligns with the principles of decentralization while ensuring that stakers have a say in the platform’s future development.
Moving Beyond Staking
The success of its staking program is just the beginning for Xandeum. The platform’s forthcoming scalable storage layer will integrate directly into Solana RPC nodes. This will unlock new revenue streams by sharing fees generated by applications utilizing Xandeum’s storage solution. By addressing Solana’s growing need for scalable, decentralized storage, Xandeum aims to empower the next wave of data-hungry dapps, including those focused on AI use cases.
As Xandeum continues to build on the success of its LST program, its role in the Solana ecosystem will be closely watched, not just by stakers but by developers and projects seeking to leverage its infrastructure. Whether through staking, governance, or storage solutions, Xandeum is proving that it’s one to watch in giving Solana the infra it needs to compete as a multi-purpose Layer 1 network.
