MSOL Marinade staked SOL

Use Cases of Marinade Staked SOL

Marinade staked SOL (mSOL) offers several key use cases within the DeFi ecosystem:

• Liquidity Provision: mSOL can be used as collateral in DeFi applications, allowing users to participate in lending and borrowing activities while still earning staking rewards.
• Trading: mSOL can be traded on both decentralized and centralized exchanges, providing liquidity and flexibility.
• Single-Asset Staking: mSOL can be used in single-asset staking strategies, enabling users to earn additional yield on top of the staking rate.
• DeFi Integration: mSOL can be integrated into various DeFi protocols, enabling users to leverage their staked SOL in multiple ways, such as in yield farming or as collateral for loans.

Key Benefits

• Liquidity: mSOL provides immediate liquidity, allowing users to access their staked SOL and earned rewards without waiting for the unlock period.
• Flexibility: mSOL can be exchanged back for SOL and earned rewards, offering users flexibility in managing their staked assets.
• Passive Income: Holding mSOL can generate passive income as its value increases with each epoch due to staking rewards.

Additional Features

• Automated Staking: Marinade's protocol automates the staking process, delegating SOL to over 100 high-performance validators.
• No Lockup Periods: Users can unstake their SOL and receive mSOL without lockup periods, providing full control over their assets.
• Community Governance: Marinade's ecosystem is strengthened by its community and contributor-centric approach to governance.

Pros of Marinade Staked SOL

• Enhanced Yield Potential: Holding Marinade Staked SOL allows participants to engage in yield farming and liquidity provision, potentially garnering higher returns compared to simply holding SOL.
• Protocol Incentives: Marinade Finance often introduces unique incentives and rewards for Marinade Staked SOL holders, encouraging greater participation and engagement within the ecosystem.
• Risk Diversification: For investors seeking diversified exposure within the Marinade crypto landscape, Marinade Staked SOL offers an alternative investment avenue beyond traditional SOL holdings.
• Liquidity: Marinade Staked SOL can be used in other DeFi projects on the Solana network, providing additional income opportunities and maintaining liquidity.
• Flexibility: Users can stake their SOL tokens through Marinade Finance and receive Marinade Staked SOL in return, which can be used without having to unstake the original SOL holdings.

Cons of Marinade Staked SOL

• Complexity: Understanding and maximizing the benefits of Marinade Staked SOL may require a deep knowledge of crypto and DeFi protocols.
• Tax Implications: Swapping between SOL and Marinade Staked SOL may constitute a taxable event, which can complicate tax reporting.
• Third-Party Custody: When staking through Marinade Finance, users' tokens are held by a third party, which may be a concern for some investors.

Founding of Marinade

Marinade was founded by a team that came together at a Solana hackathon in 2021. The team initially consisted of two groups working on liquid staking solutions who joined forces and successfully launched Marinade as the first liquid staking token live on Solana's mainnet in August 2021.

Key Figures

• Hadley Stern: Former president of Fidelity Digital Assets, appointed as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Marinade in September 2024. Stern brings extensive experience in institutional-grade digital asset management.
• Michael Repetny: CEO of Marinade, who has praised Stern's expertise and its potential to strengthen trust in Marinade's offerings and contribute to the further decentralization of Solana.
• Brandon Tucker: A member of the Core Team at Marinade Finance, who has discussed Marinade's growth and its role in Solana's ecosystem in various interviews.

Background

Marinade's founding team received $80,000 from the Solana hackathon, which provided them with a head start in developing their liquid staking solution. The platform has since become a leading staking protocol on Solana, with over 7.4 million SOL staked and a user base of more than 147,500 stakers.

Investors in Marinade Staked SOL

The specific investors in Marinade Staked SOL are not detailed in the provided sources. However, Marinade Finance, the project behind Marinade Staked SOL, has been audited by leading security companies and has a transparent governance structure, which includes tokenholders and councils.

Key Partners and Supporters

• Security Auditors: Sec3, Ackee Blockchain, Neodyme, Kudelski Security, and Halborn have audited Marinade's open-source code, ensuring top security.
• Integrated Platforms: Marinade Finance supports a wide range of wallets and integrates smoothly with leading blockchain platforms such as Coinbase, Kraken, Phantom, Solflare, OKX, ORCA, and Solend.

Community and Users

• User Base: Marinade has helped over 147,548 people stake for more than 2 years, making it the #1 TVL protocol on Solana.
• DAO Governance: Marinade has a documented and transparent ownership structure with tokenholders and councils, ensuring community involvement in governance decisions.

Halal Status of Marinade Staked SOL

• Halal Status: Yes
• Reason: Marinade staked SOL is considered halal because it involves staking SOL tokens to validate transactions on the Solana network, which is considered a form of work or service, not riba (interest). This is similar to the explanation provided in the Zoya Halal Investor Community, where staking for validation purposes is permissible. Additionally, the Solana token itself is rated as "comfortable" from a halal perspective by Practical Islamic Finance.