Solana Staking - Overview

    2025, Nov 09

    Staking in Solana is the process of locking SOL tokens in a stake account to participate in network consensus and earn rewards.

    Stakers delegate their SOL to a validator’s vote account, helping secure the network.

    Validators then earn rewards for producing blocks, which are shared with stakers.

    Key concepts:

    • Stake Account: A separate account that holds staked SOL. Only SOL in stake accounts can be delegated to validators.
    • Stake Authority: The key that can manage the stake (delegate, split, deactivate, withdraw).
    • Withdraw Authority: The key that can withdraw SOL from the stake account.
    • Lockup: Optional restrictions preventing withdrawals until a certain epoch or date.
    • Delegation: Assigning staked SOL to a validator’s vote account.
    • Epoch: A fixed period in Solana (≈2–3 days) after which rewards are calculated and stake changes take effect.

    Key Stake Instructions in Solana

    A. Creating/Initializing a Stake Account

    • Initialize / InitializeChecked
      • Sets up a new stake account with:
        • Authorized keys (stake authority and withdraw authority)
        • Optional lockup
      • InitializeChecked requires the withdraw authority to sign and no lockup is applied.
    • Accounts Involved:
      • [WRITE] Uninitialized stake account
      • [] Rent sysvar
      • [SIGNER] Withdraw authority (for InitializeChecked)

    Effect: Your stake account is ready to receive SOL for staking.

    B. Delegating Stake

    • DelegateStake
      • Sends all SOL in a stake account to a validator’s vote account.
      • Starts warm-up period: the stake gradually becomes active over epochs.
      • You can re-delegate, but it will take effect after an epoch.
    • Accounts Involved:
      • [WRITE] Stake account to be delegated
      • [] Validator vote account
      • [SIGNER] Stake authority

    Effect: Your SOL begins earning rewards after warm-up.

    C. Managing Stake

    • Authorize / AuthorizeChecked / AuthorizeWithSeed / AuthorizeCheckedWithSeed
      • Change the stake or withdraw authority.
      • Useful for delegating management to another key.
    • SetLockup / SetLockupChecked
      • Apply or update withdrawal restrictions (epoch/date/custodian).

    Effect: Control over who can manage or withdraw the stake, and enforce lockup rules.

    D. Adjusting Stake

    • Split
      • Divide a stake account into two accounts.
      • Useful for managing smaller delegations or moving stake between validators.
    • Merge
      • Combine two stake accounts with identical authorities and lockup.
      • Useful for consolidating multiple small stakes.
    • Withdraw
      • Withdraw lamports (SOL) that are not actively staked or during cooldown.
      • Cannot withdraw staked SOL unless deactivated.
    • Deactivate
      • Stop earning rewards and begin cooldown before withdrawal.
      • Stake must go through an unbonding period before becoming withdrawable.
    • Redelegate
      • Move activated stake from one validator to another.
      • Creates a new stake account for the redelegated SOL and schedules old stake for deactivation.

    E. Special Stake Operations

    • DeactivateDelinquent
      • Automatically deactivates stake delegated to a validator that has been delinquent for too long.
      • No signer required — protects network from inactive validators.
    • GetMinimumDelegation
      • Returns the minimum amount of SOL required to delegate stake.

    Lifecycle of a Stake Account

    Here’s a step-by-step example of how a stake account moves through states:

    1. Initialize → stake account is created.
    2. DelegateStake → stake starts warming up (activating).
    3. Fully activated → stake earns rewards.
    4. Optional actions:
      • Split → create new stake accounts.
      • Merge → consolidate stake accounts.
      • Authorize → update authority keys.
      • SetLockup → add withdrawal restrictions.
    5. Deactivate → stake begins cooldown.
    6. Withdraw → SOL is unlocked and can be moved elsewhere.

    Key Notes

    • Cooldown/activation: SOL doesn’t instantly become active or withdrawable. Warm-up/cooldown periods are defined in epochs.
    • Delegation balance: The entire stake account balance is delegated, minus any lamports reserved for rent exemption.
    • Authority separation: You can have separate keys for staking (manage delegation) and withdrawal (take out SOL).

    Instruction

    Instruction Purpose Key Accounts / Signers Notes
    Initialize Create a new stake account with authorities and optional lockup [WRITE] Uninitialized stake account, [] Rent sysvar, Authorized keys Stake ready to receive SOL
    InitializeChecked Same as Initialize, but withdraw authority must sign; no lockup [WRITE] Uninitialized stake account, [] Rent sysvar, [SIGNER] Withdraw authority Safe version of Initialize
    Authorize / AuthorizeChecked Change stake or withdraw authority [WRITE] Stake account, [SIGNER] current authority, [SIGNER] new authority (checked) Checked versions require new authority to sign
    AuthorizeWithSeed / AuthorizeCheckedWithSeed Same as above but for derived keys [WRITE] Stake account, [SIGNER] base authority Optional lockup authority if updating withdrawer
    SetLockup / SetLockupChecked Apply or update withdrawal restrictions [WRITE] Stake account, [SIGNER] lockup or withdraw authority Checked requires new lockup authority to sign
    DelegateStake Delegate stake to validator vote account [WRITE] Stake account, [] Vote account, [SIGNER] Stake authority Full balance is staked; warm-up period applies
    Split Split a stake account into two [WRITE] Source stake, [WRITE] Uninitialized destination, [SIGNER] Stake authority Destination receives split lamports
    Merge Merge two stake accounts [WRITE] Destination, [WRITE] Source, [SIGNER] Stake authority Requires same authorities & lockup; only compatible states can merge
    Withdraw Withdraw unstaked lamports [WRITE] Stake account, [WRITE] Recipient, [SIGNER] Withdraw authority Cannot withdraw staked lamports; lockup may apply
    Deactivate Begin cooldown for stake [WRITE] Delegated stake account, [SIGNER] Stake authority Stake stops earning rewards during cooldown
    Redelegate Move activated stake to another validator [WRITE] Source stake, [WRITE] Destination stake, [] Vote account, [SIGNER] Stake authority Old stake scheduled for deactivation; new stake starts activation
    DeactivateDelinquent Deactivate stake from delinquent validator [WRITE] Delegated stake, [] Delinquent vote, [] Reference vote No signer required; protects network
    GetMinimumDelegation Return minimum delegation amount None Useful for programs or validation

    Diagram

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