Solana: The Transformative Potential of Liquid Staking as TVL Reaches $271M

Solana (SOL-USD) has become one of the fastest-growing blockchains, driven by the recent liquid staking growth. Analysts highlight the transformative potential of liquid staking on Solana, providing increased flexibility, liquidity, and yield opportunities, positioning Solana as a destination for both retail and institutional investors.

With a year-to-date TVL growth of 176% in liquid staking protocols, from $98 million to $271 million, Solana is quickly catching investor interest due to the flexibility and liquidity that liquid staking provides. This strategy allows participants to unlock their staked assets for use in other DeFi applications, adding a layer of capital efficiency that benefits investors and boosts platform activity.

For Solana, which has a higher staking ratio than Ethereum at 68% (versus Ethereum’s 28%), liquid staking is an area of potential to reach, with only 6.5% of staked SOL currently involved. If Solana’s liquid staking penetration reaches even 10%, it could drive market growth by 53%, according to analysts. New entrants like Bitget, with its BGBSOL staking service, have already captured a significant share of this emerging market, with $17.5 million assets locked.

The Solana ecosystem has seen considerable growth in 2024, with TVL in DeFi tripling to $5.7 billion. Platforms like Jito, Marinade, and BlazeStake are at the forefront of Solana’s liquid staking, and innovation in this area positions the platform to rival Ethereum in offering robust DeFi services. With liquid staking volumes currently taking only 4.7% of the total value locked on Solana, the ecosystem's growth potential is yet to reach its high in 2025.

Bybit Research emphasizes that retail adoption will play a vital role in future growth, especially through Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) that appeal for their flexibility and liquidity. With a potential market valuation of $3.8 billion in Solana liquid staking alone, analysts project that continued adoption could push this figure to surpass $18 billion, underscoring a fivefold growth potential for Solana’s LST market and signalling the growing maturity and expansion of Solana’s DeFi landscape.