Marinade is consolidating the best SOL staking tools on Solana into a unified platform. This includes advanced staking management, native staking, and comprehensive analysis tools. Accompanying this upgrade are significant adjustments to MNDE tokenomics, with the community taking full control of the treasury through DAO voting. The upcoming governance migration aims to create a stronger, more seamless connection between the protocol and its decentralized autonomous organization.
The Solana ecosystem has shown remarkable resilience and growth since the challenges of 2022-23. Network performance has improved significantly, evidenced by Solana's Nakamoto Coefficient reaching 34, indicating greater network decentralization. Major DeFi protocols like Solend and Mango have successfully relaunched, while new projects and migrations—including Helium and Render—have joined the ecosystem.
Liquid staking has gained substantial attention in 2023, partly driven by Ethereum's Shanghai upgrade introducing liquid staking to what was previously a Proof-of-Work chain. This has increased awareness of liquidity challenges within Solana following the FTX-Alameda collapse, particularly how locked stake impacts ecosystem liquidity.
Founded through grants in spring 2021, Marinade launched its Solana liquid staking product on mainnet in August 2021, followed by DAO governance in spring 2022. Through extensive testing, community feedback, and collaboration with stakers, validators, and other ecosystem participants, Marinade has refined its delegation strategy, web application, staking program, tokenomics, and governance mechanics. Incorporating these learnings and aligning with Solana's core improvements and roadmap, Marinade is now preparing to launch its upgraded platform: Marinade V2.
What's New in Marinade V2?
Marinade V2 integrates existing tools with several key initiatives scheduled for launch later this year. The platform has already achieved significant milestones in 2023, including the Validator Dashboard, Open Doors Program, Saga Solana mobile phone DApp, updated MNDE allocations, stake pool delegation strategy revamp, and mSOL Directed Stake.
Upcoming developments for the remainder of the year include:
- Further updates to the stake pool delegation strategy
- Staking 360: A comprehensive staking product suite
- DAO Governance enhancements
- MNDE token design improvements
Stake Pool Updates and Performance
Marinade V2 introduces a refined delegation strategy structured across three components:
- Performance-based (60%): An algorithmic strategy selecting the top 100 validators using the Marinade score, which combines yield and decentralization factors.
- veMNDE (20%): MNDE holders who lock their tokens in the governance system can direct stake to validators of their choice, provided those validators meet performance requirements.
- Directed Stake (20%): mSOL holders and protocols can vote for specific validators instead of using the algorithm, as long as validators meet eligibility requirements.
Marinade has developed an in-house system to transparently track validator performance over time, visible through the Validator Dashboard. This system identifies robust, high-yield validators while quickly detecting malicious actors who might exploit stakers or degrade network performance (e.g., through vote lagging).
The new version incorporates Solana's redelegate feature, enabling Marinade to rebalance stake instantly without a cooldown period that typically reduces staking rewards. This enhancement means better returns for all mSOL holders. 👉 Explore advanced staking strategies
Staking 360: Comprehensive Solana Staking Solutions
Despite 70% of SOL being staked, only about 2% utilizes liquid staking despite its composability advantages. Through interviews and surveys, Marinade identified common concerns including taxable events, smart contract risk, and the desire to support single validators.
Marinade's existing tools—the Validator Dashboard, delegation strategy, directed stake, The Decentralizer, and Solana Snapshots grant—are being optimized and repackaged as Staking 360. This product suite will provide Solana's most comprehensive staking homepage, enabling users to stake SOL natively or through liquid staking, to single or multiple validators, using the ecosystem's most transparent tools.
Key Components of Staking 360:
- Algorithmic Native Staking: Users can benefit from automated SOL delegation to 100+ high-performing validators without exposure to smart contract risk, complemented by the new validator dashboard and Marinade scoring system for performance verification.
- Unstake Pool Redesign: Updated design facilitates better instant unstake operations for mSOL, native staking, and other staked SOL tokens by combining Jupiter for swaps and Marinade for stake account management.
- Enhanced Liquid Staking Integrations: Marinade will expand ecosystem integrations for mSOL while making Marinade.Finance the central hub for discovering optimal mSOL use cases in DeFi, combining educational resources with practical implementation guides.
Staking remains fundamental to Solana's prosperity, and Marinade aims to leverage its learnings and tools to facilitate smarter staking for everyone in the ecosystem.
Governance Updates and MNDE Enhancements
The expanded product offerings create additional opportunities within mDAO through the MNDE token and on-chain tooling via Realms. Marinade is upgrading its governance infrastructure from Tribeca to Realms (built by Solana Labs and Mango Markets) to create stronger connections between mDAO governance, the MNDE token, and other Solana communities on Realms.
Phase one of this migration—moving two multisigs and ratifying the code of conduct and constitution—is complete. Marinade V2 will operate under the following governance system:
- The DAO controls the treasury, main contract, and council membership.
- MNDE holders lock their tokens to gain veMNDE voting power, while Chef NFT holders migrate to Realms to continue governance participation.
- The Marinade Council operates with limited scope under DAO control, managing day-to-day operations using an approved budget while holding admin security backstop authorities.
These changes streamline governance while increasing operational efficiency.
MNDE Token Design Improvements
Marinade is addressing key issues in token design through simplification and realignment. The main changes focus on allocation, buybacks, and ownership.
1. Token Allocation
The initial distribution allocated 35% for community bootstrapping, 35% for the treasury, and 30% for the team with a 6-month delay followed by two years of linear vesting. The updated structure stops team vesting at the already vested 7.5%, with further unlocks tied to growth in total value locked (TVL) at Marinade, shifting from time-based to performance-based unlocks.
The new MNDE token distribution:
- DAO (92.5%): Includes 11.5% MNDE already in circulation and 81% in the treasury controlled by MNDE holders.
- Initial contributors (7.5%): Includes 6.7% MNDE already circulating and 0.8% vesting monthly until end of 2023.
2. Token Buybacks
Currently, all protocol fees cover operational expenses. Once monthly revenue exceeds expenses, the community can propose and approve buying back MNDE from the market. Current calculations indicate this threshold would require SOL reaching approximately $40 per token or a roughly 4 million increase in stake delegated through Marinade.
3. Token Ownership and Utility
MNDE holders who stake their tokens in governance ultimately control the treasury and program direction. The team will request funding through DAO proposals, while liquidity mining transitions to time-bound, case-by-case grant proposals.
MNDE's core utility encompasses:
- SOL delegation: Directing 20% of staked SOL through Validator Gauges
- Fee structure: Increased revenue driving buyback demand
- Governance: Controlling the DAO treasury and protocol updates
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Marinade V2?
Marinade V2 represents the next evolution of Solana staking, combining enhanced delegation strategies, comprehensive staking tools, and improved governance mechanisms. The update integrates existing products with new features to create a unified staking experience.
How does the new delegation strategy work?
The strategy splits allocations between performance-based algorithms (60%), veMNDE voting (20%), and directed stake (20%). This balanced approach maintains yield optimization while increasing community input and validator choice.
What makes Staking 360 different?
Staking 360 combines native staking, liquid staking, and advanced analytics in a single interface. Users can stake how they prefer while accessing transparent validator performance data and instant unstaking capabilities.
How has MNDE tokenomics changed?
The updated tokenomics shift team unlocks from time-based to performance-based vesting, increase DAO treasury control to 92.5%, and introduce potential buyback mechanisms when revenue exceeds expenses.
What governance changes are happening?
The migration to Realms creates stronger connections between MNDE token holders and protocol governance. The DAO now controls the treasury and main contract, with the Council operating under clearly defined parameters.
How can I participate in governance?
MNDE holders can lock tokens to obtain veMNDE voting power, participating in validator selection and treasury management decisions through the Realms platform. 👉 Discover governance participation methods
Marinade's development journey has focused on delivering the ecosystem's best staking tools while advancing mDAO governance to empower the Solana community. As these products evolve and governance mechanisms mature, community participation remains essential to the protocol's continued success.