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The RealValidator Team Editorial team

Solana's stake-pool ecosystem — Marinade Finance with its Stake Auction Marketplace (SAM), the Jito Stake Pool issuing jitoSOL, and SolBlaze issuing bSOL — distributes a meaningful share of total Solana validator stake algorithmically rather than through direct staker-to-validator delegation. Pool methodology changes (auction rules, selection criteria, decentralization weighting) propagate to every validator competing for pooled stake, making this layer of stake distribution a network-level signal worth tracking persistently.

This tracker records pool-side methodology changes, observed auction outcomes, and the relative size of liquid-staking-token markets that determine how much stake flows through each pool program. Validator-side effects (which validators win which pool's algorithmic stake) are observable on Stakewiz and surfaced in the wiki's individual validator profiles' Delegation programs section.

Current state (as of 2026-05-16)

Source: Stakewiz API cache at epoch 971 (2026-05-15); cross-referenced against Marinade Finance, Jito Network, and SolBlaze public pages.

Marinade SAM (Stake Auction Marketplace)

  • Mechanism: per-epoch auction where validators bid by offering APY terms; Marinade allocates mSOL-backed stake to the most favorable bids meeting decentralization eligibility criteria.
  • Replaces: the older deprecated "Marinade Score" system (do not cite the legacy score; it has been retired in favor of SAM).
  • Top observed SAM recipient in this wiki's directory (epoch 971): Lord Validates-a-Lot at approximately 508,635 SOL combined SAM + native delegations (sourced from Marinade's validators-api endpoint per Agent B's validator shortlist).
  • Eligibility signals SAM weights positively: low base commission, current software version, low ASN/city concentration, 0% skip rate.
  • Outcome cadence: SAM auctions resolve each epoch (~2 days); methodology changes published on marinade.finance.

Jito Stake Pool (jitoSOL)

  • Mechanism: on-chain stake distribution program issuing the jitoSOL liquid staking token. Distinct from the Jito client (validator software) and the Jito Block Engine (MEV auction service); see Jito disambiguation.
  • Selection criteria: operated by the Jito Foundation; weighting includes performance and decentralization signals. Specific selection methodology is published at jito.network.
  • Validator inclusion in this directory: several wiki-directory validators participate in the Jito Stake Pool. Per-validator status is recorded in each profile's Delegation programs section.

SolBlaze (bSOL)

  • Mechanism: stake pool protocol distributing pooled stake across selected validators. Smaller TVL than Marinade or Jito Stake Pool but operationally similar.
  • Selection methodology: published at solblaze.org.
  • Wiki directory inclusion: verifiable per-validator on Stakewiz and noted in profile Delegation programs sections where applicable.

Aggregate LST sizes (May 2026)

  • mSOL, jitoSOL, and bSOL relative market sizes are not enumerated in the wiki's current data cache; primary source for LST sizing is DeFiLlama Solana LST category. Tracker will record monthly relative-size snapshots in future updates.

Timeline

  • 2026-05-16 (snapshot): Tracker established. Marinade SAM operating; top SAM recipient in directory is Lord Validates-a-Lot. Jito Stake Pool and SolBlaze active; specific size snapshots pending future updates.

What this means for stakers

Pool-side dynamics affect stakers in three specific ways:

  1. Choosing a liquid staking token vs native delegation. Holding mSOL, jitoSOL, or bSOL trades direct validator selection for pool-algorithmic selection plus liquidity (the LST is tradeable on DEXs without unstaking). The trade-off: the pool decides which validators receive the stake; the staker decides which pool to trust. See the LST and stake pool glossary entries for the full mechanics.

  2. Validator selection becomes pool-criterion-dependent. A validator at 0% commission with current software version, low ASN concentration, and 0% skip rate scores well against SAM and Jito Stake Pool selection criteria — and therefore receives a meaningful share of pool-driven stake even without direct retail delegations. Lord Validates-a-Lot is the directory's clearest example: minimal public brand, no operator website, but ~508k SOL in combined SAM and native delegations because the metric signals are strong.

  3. Pool decentralization-weighting amplifies SFDP-style rules. Marinade SAM, Jito Stake Pool, and SolBlaze each apply some form of ASN/city/concentration penalty. The SFDP 2026 Rules Tracker's 25% ASN cap is mirrored (with implementation-specific weights) at the pool layer; a TeraSwitch-hosted validator losing SFDP eligibility tends to lose pool eligibility on a similar timeline.

Affected validators in this directory

Listed by observable pool-relationship signal at epoch 971.

Notable pool participants:

  • Lord Validates-a-Lot — top Marinade SAM recipient in the directory (~508k SOL combined). Strong SAM eligibility signals: 0% base, 0% Jito MEV, 0% skip rate, current software version.
  • Jito Labs — Jito Foundation's own operator validator; participation in the Jito Stake Pool is governed by the same eligibility criteria as any other Jito-Solana validator, not by operator identity.
  • Other wiki-directory validators — Jito Stake Pool and SolBlaze inclusion is observable on Stakewiz; per-validator status appears in each profile's Delegation programs section.

Validators less likely to participate in algorithmic pools include those above the SFDP-style decentralization thresholds (the four TeraSwitch validators currently exceed the 25% ASN concentration cap that SAM, Jito Stake Pool, and SolBlaze each weight against).

Sources

Tracker since 2026-05-16. Pool participation and SAM amounts cited from Stakewiz API cache and Marinade validators-api at epoch 971 (2026-05-15). Pool methodology details verified against marinade.finance, jito.network, and solblaze.org on each tracker refresh.