Nansen and Sanctum Launch Solana Liquid Staking Token

Blockchain analytics firm Nansen on Wednesday announced a partnership with Sanctum to launch nxSOL, a liquid staking token (LST) built on Solana – the second-largest blockchain with a total value locked (TVL) of over $13 billion.

The token lets users earn staking rewards while retaining liquidity, allowing them to withdraw or use funds across Solana’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem at any time. Nansen said the project aims to make staking on Solana more liquid and easy to use.

Sanctum – which has a TVL of $2.5 billion, up significantly from $900 million in April – is the fourth largest protocol on Solana and helps to enhance the utility of staked SOL. Currently, around 68% of SOL’s total supply is staked – that’s about 372 million tokens worth $74.5 billion. Staked SOL earns on average an estimated 4.38% annual yield, according to Coinbase data.

The launch of nxSOL adds to Solana’s growing liquid staking market, which includes protocols like Jito and Marinade. JitoSOL currently holds over $2.9 billion in TVL, making it the largest liquid staking protocol on Solana. Meanwhile, Marinade’s liquid staking arm (mSOL) boasts about $835 million in TVL and a 30-day average APY of 6.89%.

The addition of nxSOL reflects a broader shift on Solana, where liquid staking is helping to drive growth and make the network more flexible, decentralized, and user-friendly. Solana’s broader ecosystem has recorded strong growth this year as more investors are drawn to its fast transactions and low fees.

“nxSOL marks the next chapter in Nansen’s staking journey, expanding our reach into Solana while staying true to our mission of making onchain participation simple, liquid, and secure,” said Alex Svanevik, CEO of Nansen. “It’s about unlocking new horizons for users and builders as staking becomes an integral part of the onchain economy.”

The partnership comes as Nansen expands its footprint in staking. Since acquiring validator platform StakewithUs last year, the firm’s total staked assets have grown from $60 million to more than $2 billion, spanning over 20 blockchain networks and 350,000 stakers, according to a press release viewed by The Defiant.