Research only. This report is educational and is not investment advice, a recommendation regarding any asset, or an offer or solicitation of any kind. SDIF deploys proprietary capital only. Figures are third-party data as of the dates cited and may be incomplete or change without notice.
Reports / November 2, 2026
Solana Staking & Leverage Report — November 2026
Market snapshot, unlevered yields, collateral terms and leverage math for Solana staking, with sources and as-of dates. Research only; not investment advice.
Published November 2, 2026 · Last updated Nov 2, 2026 (10:00 PM PT) · Office of the Founding Partners
01Bottom line
Leverage is underwater; unlevered staking leads.
SOL borrow costs on the main lending venues (5.00% on Kamino to about 7.0% on Project 0) exceed JitoSOL's 4.73% yield, so each additional turn of an LST/SOL loop lowers net yield. The strongest risk-adjusted options on November 2, 2026 are unlevered: 0% commission, 0% MEV commission Jito-client validators, or the INF and jupSOL liquid staking tokens, at roughly 5.2% to 5.5%.
02Market snapshot
Solana staking market
| Metric | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOL price | $92.21 | Nov 2, 8:51 PM PT | CoinGecko API |
| 7d / 30d / 1y | −7.9% / −23.7% / −48.1% | Nov 2 | CoinGecko API |
| YTD | −26.0% (from $124.52) | Nov 2 | CoinGecko history API |
| Staked SOL | 437.1M (74.12% of circulating) | Oct 23 | TokenPost |
| Inflation | 3.59%; implied 4.96% net staking yield | Oct 24 | TokenPost |
| LST share of stake | 54.47M SOL (12.46%) | Oct 31 | stakecake.com |
| Nakamoto coefficient | 17–18 | Nov 2–3 | SolVitals, Chainspect, Solana Compass |
| US spot SOL ETFs | All 9 stake; net yields 3.73%–6.38% | Sep 30–Oct 30 | cryptoetf.today, VanEck |
Recent events: the Binance hack (about $6.3B, Oct 29–30) prompted a temporary Kamino SOL/BTC borrow pause and a Jupiter Lend withdrawal queue; a validator key compromise halted rewards on several validators from epoch 1070; SGP-002 doubles the disinflation rate toward a 1.5% terminal rate by 2029.
03Yields
Ranked validator and LST yields (unlevered)
| # | Option | APY | Commission / MEV | Jito client | Skip rate / uptime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MICOBO | 5.55% | 0% / 0% | Yes (v4.4.0-rc.1) | 0% / 100% |
| 2 | Aurora staking | 5.48% | 0% / 0% | Yes (v4.4.0) | 0% / 100% |
| 3 | Nordic Staking | 5.37% | 0% / 0% | Yes (v4.4.0-rc.1) | 0% / 100% |
| 4 | Stardust Staking | 5.29% | 0% / 0% | Yes (v4.4.0) | 0% / 100% |
| 5 | Ubik Capital | 5.26% | 0% / 0% | Yes (v4.4.0-rc.1) | 0% / 100% |
| 6 | INF (Sanctum) | 5.23% | LST | — | — |
| 7 | jupSOL | 5.15% | LST | — | — |
| 8 | mSOL (TVL $207.7M) | 4.67%–5.13% | LST | — | — |
| 9 | JitoSOL (TVL $969M) | 4.73% | LST | — | — |
| 10 | bSOL (TVL $80.3M) / BNSOL | 4.65% / 4.60% | LST | — | — |
04Collateral
Lending venue terms and exact liquidation points
| Venue / market | Collateral → debt | Max LTV | Liquidation LTV | Move that liquidates from max-LTV entry | Borrow rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kamino SOL/BTC (base) | SOL → USDC | 74% | 80% | 7.5% SOL price drop | USDC 4.92% |
| Kamino SOL/BTC (base) | JitoSOL or mSOL → USDC | 65% | 73% | 11.0% price drop | USDC 4.92% |
| Kamino SOL/BTC (eMode groups) | LSTs → SOL | 85%–87% | 92% | 5.4%–7.6% stake-rate drop | SOL 5.19% |
| Kamino Jito Market (eMode) | JitoSOL → SOL | 90% (one group 92%) | 95% | 5.3% (3.2% at 92%) stake-rate drop | SOL 5.00% |
| Project 0 (marginfi) Main | SOL → USDC | 72.7% (asset weight 0.80 ÷ USDC liability weight 1.10) | 85.7% (maint. 0.90 ÷ 1.05) | 15.2% SOL price drop | USDC ≈8.6% base APR (96.3% utilization) |
| Project 0 (marginfi) Main | JitoSOL → USDC | 68.2% (0.75 ÷ 1.10) | 81.0% (0.85 ÷ 1.05) | 15.8% price drop | USDC ≈8.6% |
| Project 0 (marginfi) Main | mSOL → USDC | 59.1% (0.65 ÷ 1.10) | 76.2% (0.80 ÷ 1.05) | 22.4% price drop | USDC ≈8.6% |
| Project 0 (marginfi) Main (base weights) | JitoSOL → SOL | 65.8% (0.75 ÷ SOL liability 1.14) | 77.3% (0.85 ÷ 1.10) | 14.9% JitoSOL/SOL drop (eMode overrides unavailable) | SOL ≈7.0% base APR (93.6% utilization) |
| Save Main Pool | SOL | 65% | 75% | 13.3% price drop | SOL 4.14% |
05Leverage
Loop math and liquidation triggers
Net yield = staking APY × L − borrow rate × (L − 1). Trigger = 1 − entry LTV ÷ liquidation LTV, using the on-chain liquidation LTVs above.
| Leverage | Entry LTV | JitoSOL/SOL net (4.73% vs 5.00%) | Stake-rate drop to liquidate (95%) | JitoSOL/USDC net (vs 4.92%) | SOL drop to liquidate (73%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1x | 0% | 4.73% | — | 4.73% | — |
| 2x | 50% | 4.46% | 47.4% | 4.54% | 31.5% |
| 3x | 67% | 4.19% | 29.8% | Not openable (above 65% max LTV) | — |
| 5x | 80% | 3.65% | 15.8% | Not openable | — |
The SOL loop still loses about 0.27 points per extra turn. The USDC route adds full SOL price exposure. Danger zones: 5x and above on SOL loops; any USDC loop near the 65% cap.
06Aggressive plays
Strategies with risk flags
- 01
Kamino Multiply, fixed-rate borrow
Viable only if a fixed SOL rate below about 4.5% is offered. No live SOL fixed-rate quote was published in sources reviewed.
- 02
JitoSOL plus short SOL perp
Funding 0.0096% per 8h (about 10.5% annualized) plus staking, Nov 2. Funding can flip; venue risk is elevated after the Binance incident.
- 03
INF or jupSOL as loop collateral
Higher base yield narrows the negative spread; thinner liquidity.
- 04
Restaking
Solayer sSOL 4.84% APY, sSOL TVL $7.54M, sUSD 3.61% (Solayer app API, epoch 1075, Nov 2, 2026, 9:55 PM PT). Jito Restaking TVL $15.35M (DefiLlama, Nov 2); Jito vaults kySOL 5.17% ($10.9M TVL) and kyJTO 3.95% ($0.62M) (Kyros via DefiLlama yields API, Nov 2). TipRouter NCN pays 0.15% of Jito tips to vaults. Yields for other Jito vaults (for example Fragmetric, Renzo) are not published in the sources checked and remain unavailable.
Cross-cutting risks: LST depeg and exit liquidity, rate inversion, oracle risk, smart-contract risk, operator key compromise and stake concentration.
07Position sizing
Position-Sizing Framework ($1 to $1B)
The tiers, caps and buffers below are SDIF internal guidelines, not market facts or advice. Market inputs are the figures verified elsewhere in this report (Nov 2, 2026). Example positions are illustrative.
Summary
| Tier | Range | Max leverage (LST/SOL) | USDC-debt LTV cap | Target allocation (unlevered / looped / USDC sleeve) | Buffer rule | Example position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro | $1–10K | 1.0x | 0% | 100 / 0 / 0 | n/a (no debt) | $5K in JitoSOL or native stake |
| Small | $10–100K | 2.0x | 0% | 90 / 10 / 0 | Entry LTV ≤ 55% of liquidation LTV | $50K: $45K unlevered, $5K equity at 2x |
| Medium | $100K–1M | 2.0x | 20% | 80 / 15 / 5 | ≤ 55% (LST/SOL); ≤ 30% (USDC) | $500K: $75K equity looped, $25K USDC sleeve |
| Large | $1–10M | 2.0x | 20% | 85 / 10 / 5 | ≤ 55% / ≤ 30%; borrow ≤ 10% of venue available liquidity | $5M: $500K looped, $250K USDC sleeve |
| Institutional | $10–100M | 1.5x | 10% | 90 / 8 / 2 | ≤ 35% / ≤ 15%; borrow ≤ 10% of available liquidity | $50M: $4M looped (≈$2M SOL borrowed), $1M sleeve |
| Mega | $100M–1B | 1.1x | 0% | 98 / 2 / 0 | ≤ 10%; borrow ≤ 5% of available liquidity | $500M: $490M direct stake, $10M at 1.1x |
Liquidation math
Leverage L = 1 ÷ (1 − LTV). Distance to liquidation from entry = 1 − LTV₀ ÷ LT. LTV after a SOL drop d on SOL-priced collateral with USDC debt = LTV₀ ÷ (1 − d). Dollar loss = (portfolio − sleeve) × d + sleeve × d ÷ (1 − LTV₀).
Kamino on-chain liquidation LTVs (Nov 2): SOL→USDC 80% (7.5% drop from the 74% max); JitoSOL or mSOL→USDC 73% (11.0% from the 65% max); LST→SOL 92–95% (3.2%–7.6% headroom from max). Max-LTV entries are therefore excluded at every tier.
LST/SOL loops are SOL-denominated on both sides: a SOL price drop does not move their LTV, and their USD loss equals the equity's SOL exposure, the same as unlevered staking. Their risks are stake-rate loss or depeg (Kamino uses the stake-pool rate), rate inversion (SOL borrow 5.00%–5.19% vs JitoSOL 4.73% today, so loops currently lower yield), and exit liquidity.
| Tier (example) | USDC sleeve LTV₀ | LTV after −10% / −20% / −30% | Liquidated? | SOL drop to liquidate | Portfolio loss at −10% / −20% / −30% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro ($5K) | — | — | No debt | — | $500 / $1,000 / $1,500 |
| Small ($50K) | — | — (LST/SOL loop LTV stays 50%) | No | Stake-rate drop of 47.4% | $5,000 / $10,000 / $15,000 |
| Medium ($500K) | 20% | 22.2% / 25.0% / 28.6% | No | 72.6% | $50,625 / $101,250 / $151,875 |
| Large ($5M) | 20% | 22.2% / 25.0% / 28.6% | No | 72.6% | $506,250 / $1,012,500 / $1,518,750 |
| Institutional ($50M) | 10% | 11.1% / 12.5% / 14.3% | No | 86.3% | $5.01M / $10.02M / $15.03M |
| Mega ($500M) | — | — (1.1x LST/SOL LTV 9.1%) | No | Stake-rate drop of 90.4% | $50M / $100M / $150M |
Execution notes
- Micro
Fees and rent dominate
Native stake or one LST (JitoSOL, mSOL) in a single hardware-backed wallet; no leverage, since transaction costs, rent deposits and LST exit fees outweigh any spread.
- Small
Optional 2x LST/SOL loop
Kamino Jito market or Project 0 only; one wallet; manual weekly checks of the borrow-vs-staking spread; exit if SOL borrow stays above LST yield.
- Medium
Two venues, written limits
Split loops between Kamino and Project 0; USDC sleeve only on Kamino SOL/BTC; Squads multisig (2-of-3) for treasury; automated alerts on LTV, borrow rate and LST/SOL rate.
- Large
Liquidity-aware sizing
Kamino's Jito market had about $1.5M of SOL available out of $17.5M supplied (Oct 31–Nov 2), so loops above about $150K of borrowing move to the SOL/BTC market (about $22M available). Spread unlevered stake across JitoSOL ($969M TVL), mSOL ($207.7M) and native stake; kySOL ($11.2M vault) and sSOL ($8.2M) only as small satellites.
- Institutional
Custody and controls
Established qualified custodians (for example Anchorage Digital, Coinbase Custody, BitGo) for the core; support for specific Solana staking, LST or DeFi features must be confirmed with each custodian. Squads multisig with role separation for DeFi sleeves; written limits, daily reconciliation, 24/7 alerting, and pre-defined unwind runbooks.
- Mega
Direct stake and own validator
Leverage near zero: available SOL borrow and LST exit liquidity are small relative to $100M+. Native stake across many validators (outside the superminority), evaluate running an SDIF validator, and use LSTs only where exit depth is verified. Multi-entity treasury: separate legal-entity wallets, custodian sub-accounts, consolidated reporting and independent risk sign-off.
08Verified
Verified points and data gaps
Slashing is not live on Solana: SIMD-0204 (evidence) is in review and SIMD-0212 (penalties) was closed on March 23, 2026. Lido on Solana is sunset; stSOL holders can only unstake. Data filled on Nov 2, 2026 (10:00 PM PT): Project 0 base asset and liability weights and estimated borrow rates (Section 04), validator skip rates and Jito client status (Section 03), Solayer and Kyros vault yields (Section 06). Data still unavailable: Project 0 LST/SOL eMode weights, Project 0 borrow rates net of protocol fees as quoted in its app, mapping of each LST to a Kamino SOL/BTC eMode group, yields for Jito vaults other than kySOL and kyJTO, and live Kamino fixed-rate SOL quotes.