One of the most common misconceptions about liquid staking is that it is inherently less secure than native staking. On paper, that is technically true because liquid staking introduces additional smart contract logic that wraps staked SOL into a tokenized form. In practice, however, the difference is negligible.
For most users, the extra risk that once existed has become functionally insignificant thanks to the proven reliability of Solana’s stake pool architecture.
Native Staking Security Vs. Liquid Staking
When natively staking SOL, security comes from Solana’s validator network. Liquid staking does not replace this system, it builds on top of it.
LSTs represent ownership of staked SOL and do not change how Solana’s consensus works. However, liquid staking introduces additional smart contract and operational complexity that does not exist with native staking. This does not create new consensus-level risks, but it does introduce protocol-level risk.
It is also important to note that Solana’s staking model does not include slashing, so validator underperformance affects rewards rather than the principal itself. Whether a user stakes natively or through an LST, the underlying SOL remains staked with validators under the same network security model.
The SPL Stake Pool Standard
The foundation of Solana’s liquid staking ecosystem is the SPL Stake Pool Program. Developed and maintained by Solana Labs, it is the canonical standard that powers nearly every major liquid staking token on the network.
This program has been audited nine times and has processed billions of dollars in staked assets across market cycles, today securing more than $10 billion in AUM. For users, this means that when they interact with an LST built on the SPL standard, they are relying on one of the most secure and widely tested programs in the Solana ecosystem.
At Sanctum, we’ve played a direct role in building the SPL Stake Pool Program. Our engineers contributed to its original implementation and have continued to help improve and maintain it over time.
A Proven, Secure Foundation
The idea that liquid staking is less secure than native staking should be left in the past, when it was still relevant. Today, Solana’s liquid staking is a secure, efficient way to earn yield on SOL while maintaining liquidity.
To get started with liquid staking: