Solana Restaking Explained: How It Works, Yields, and Risks
By Jorge Rodriguez — Solana
How restaking differs from liquid staking on Solana, with a side-by-side comparison
The yield math behind stacking restaking rewards across three layers
The real risks of Solana restaking, including smart contract exposure and AVS-level slashing
Introduction
Your staked SOL is already working. Every SOL delegated to a Solana validator earns a base reward from the network's inflation schedule while securing the protocol. **Restaking** takes that same capital a step further: it reuses the economic weight of your stake to also secure additional networks and services at the same time, earning extra yield on top of what you already receive. Solana restaking explained simply means doing two jobs with one stake. The same SOL that secures the Solana network can simultaneously back external services called **Actively Validated Services (AVSs)**, which pay their own rewards to restakers who opt in. You do not split your capital or unstake anything. The position is extended, not divided. This guide walks through how restaking works on Solana, how yield stacks across three distinct layers, the risk structure at each layer, and how restaking compares to [liquid staking tokens](/blog/yield-strategies/liquid-staking-tokens-explained). Restaking is one of the fastest-growing yield strategies on Solana, and multiple protocols now compete for restaked SOL and LSTs. For a real-time view of live restaking opportunities and current yield levels across protocols, the [Lince Tracker restaking category](https://yields.lince.finance/tracker/solana/category/restaking) is a useful reference to keep open alongside this guide.
What Is Restaking? The Core Idea
**From One Job to Many** Standard staking on Solana earns the base consensus reward by delegating SOL to a validator. The validator participates in network consensus, and in exchange, delegators receive a share of the inflation reward, currently in the range of 6 to 8% APY at typical network parameters. This is a straightforward arrangement: your SOL secures Solana, and Solana pays you for doing so. Restaking changes this arrangement by adding a second layer of economic utility to the same staked capital. Rather than simply backing Solana's validators, your stake is also routed to provide economic security for external protocols, each of which operates independently of Solana's base layer. The core insight is that **economic security** is a service, and your staked SOL can sell that service to more than one buyer simultaneously. **What Are Actively Validated Services (AVSs)?** An **Actively Validated Service (AVS)** is any external network, protocol, or infrastructure service that needs economic security to operate but cannot build its own validator set from scratch. Building a new validator set is expensive and slow. Instead, AVSs borrow the security of existing Solana stake through restaking protocols, paying yield to restakers in return. AVS types vary widely. They include oracle networks that need reliable data feeds, data availability layers that require integrity guarantees, cross-chain bridge infrastructure, and rollup sequencer networks. What all AVSs share is a need for a credible financial penalty mechanism to discourage misbehavior, which is exactly what restaked SOL provides. **How the Deposit Flow Works** Restaking protocols offer two entry paths. The first is depositing native SOL directly: the protocol handles staking it to a validator and then routes its economic weight to one or more AVSs. The second is depositing a **liquid staking token (LST)** such as JitoSOL or mSOL. An LST already carries the full staking yield of the underlying SOL, and restaking adds another layer on top of that. The choice between these two paths affects both the yield composition and the complexity of the resulting position, which the [validator staking vs liquid staking comparison](/blog/yield-strategies/validator-staking-vs-liquid-staking-solana) covers in more detail. In either case, the restaking protocol issues a **receipt token** representing your position. This is similar to how a liquid staking protocol gives you an LST in exchange for your SOL. The receipt token tracks your restaked balance and accrued rewards. Its liquidity depends on the protocol and is an important factor when considering how quickly you can exit. 
Restaking vs Liquid Staking: What Is the Difference?
Restaking and liquid staking are closely related but serve different purposes. Understanding where they differ clarifies both the yield opportunity and the risk profile that comes with each. Importantly, the two can also be combined, which is one reason the distinction matters. **Liquid staking** converts your native SOL into a tradeable, yield-bearing token while keeping your capital productive. An LST like JitoSOL or mSOL tracks the value of staked SOL and accrues rewards automatically. The key benefit is liquidity: your staked position remains accessible as a token you can trade, lend, or deploy further in DeFi. **Restaking** does not add liquidity to your stake. Instead, it adds more yield sources by routing your stake's economic weight to additional services. The trade-off is higher complexity and additional risk in exchange for higher potential yield. The table below shows where each approach differs across the dimensions that matter most. | | Native Staking | Liquid Staking | Restaking | |---|---|---|---| | What you deposit | SOL | SOL | SOL or LST | | What you receive | Nothing (locked) | LST (JitoSOL, mSOL) | Receipt token | | Liquidity | None until unstaked | Full (LST is tradeable) | Limited (varies by protocol) | | Yield sources | Validator rewards | Validator rewards + MEV | Staking + MEV + AVS rewards | | Complexity | Low | Low to Medium | Medium to High | | Risk level | Low | Low to Medium | Medium to High | The key takeaway: liquid staking adds liquidity to your stake. Restaking adds more yield sources. The two approaches can be stacked: you can hold an LST and deposit it into a restaking protocol to capture all three layers of yield simultaneously. This is one of the more common paths restakers take in the current landscape.
Key Solana Restaking Protocols
The Solana restaking category is relatively young and evolving quickly. Several protocols have launched with different designs, AVS registries, and reward structures. The examples below represent active participants in the current restaking landscape rather than an exhaustive or ranked list. **Fragmetric** Fragmetric is a Solana-native restaking protocol focused on AVS infrastructure. Users can deposit SOL or LSTs to participate in securing external services through a permissioned AVS registry. Rewards have been distributed through a combination of point-based systems and token incentives, with the structure continuing to evolve as the protocol scales. **Solayer** Solayer is a restaking protocol focused on Solana-based AVS use cases, including what it refers to as endogenous AVSs: protocols built on Solana itself that want to borrow economic security from restaked SOL. It supports both native SOL and LST deposits and has been an early-mover in defining the Solana restaking design space. Both Fragmetric and Solayer illustrate how the restaking model is being implemented on Solana, but they do not represent the full competitive field. New protocols are entering the space regularly, and the reward structures, AVS registries, and deposit mechanics differ meaningfully between them. For a live view of which restaking protocols are currently active and what yield rates they are offering, the [Lince Tracker restaking category](https://yields.lince.finance/tracker/solana/category/restaking) aggregates up-to-date data across the Solana restaking landscape in a single view.
How Yield Stacks in Restaking
Every restaking position is built from multiple yield sources layered on top of each other. Understanding each layer makes it easier to evaluate whether a protocol's advertised yield is reasonable, where the variable parts of that yield sit, and what changes when market conditions shift. **Layer 1: Base Staking Reward** The foundation of any restaking position is the consensus reward Solana pays to validators and their delegators. At current network parameters, this sits roughly in the 6 to 8% APY range. This yield comes from Solana's [inflation schedule](https://solana.com/staking) and is relatively stable, though it adjusts gradually over time as the emission rate changes. **Layer 2: LST Premium (if applicable)** If you deposit an LST rather than native SOL, your position enters restaking already carrying more than just the base staking rate. LSTs like JitoSOL and mSOL also capture **MEV** tips and priority fees paid by users and protocols transacting on Solana. This adds a small premium on top of the inflation reward, typically 0.5 to 2% APY depending on the LST and the current fee environment. **Layer 3: AVS Restaking Rewards** The third layer is the yield that makes restaking distinct from everything below it. Each AVS that the restaking protocol participates in pays additional rewards to restakers for providing economic security. This yield is highly variable: it depends on how many AVSs the protocol participates in, the demand each AVS has for security at a given moment, and whether rewards are paid in SOL or in the AVS protocol's own token.  **Worked Example (Approximate Illustration)** Assume you hold JitoSOL, which is earning roughly 8% APY from base staking rewards and MEV capture combined. You deposit it into a restaking protocol participating in two AVSs. AVS A is paying an annualized 3% reward rate to restakers; AVS B is paying 2%. Adding these layers together gives a rough yield estimate of around 13% before any protocol fees. ``` Layer 1 + 2: JitoSOL base yield ~8% Layer 3: AVS A reward ~3% Layer 3: AVS B reward ~2% Combined estimate: ~13% ``` These numbers are illustrative and will not match any live protocol precisely. AVS reward rates shift constantly, early incentive programs compress over time, and protocol fees reduce the net figure. The worked example shows the structure, not a return target. **Why Yields Vary So Much** Restaking yields span a wide range across protocols and time because several variables move independently. The number of AVSs a protocol has opted into directly determines how many reward streams contribute to the stack. Early-stage AVSs often offer elevated incentives to attract restakers, which compress as capital inflows grow. The underlying LST choice affects Layers 1 and 2 before restaking even begins. And when AVS rewards are paid in protocol tokens rather than SOL, the effective yield depends on the token's price at the time of claiming or compounding.
Restaking Risks on Solana
Every additional yield source in a restaking stack comes with an additional risk source. Understanding what can go wrong at each layer is essential before committing capital to any restaking protocol. The risk structure of Solana restaking has several unique characteristics worth understanding clearly. **Smart Contract Risk** The most universal restaking risk is smart contract exposure. A straightforward native staking position involves one contract: the Solana staking program. A restaking position built on an LST adds the LST protocol's contracts. Restaking adds the restaking protocol's contracts and each AVS's contracts on top of that stack. Every contract in this chain is a potential vulnerability surface. Even audited contracts carry non-zero risk: audits reduce the probability of exploits but cannot eliminate them. The more AVSs a restaking protocol participates in, the more contract surface area the position carries. The [broader landscape of DeFi yield risks](/blog/risk-management/defi-yield-risks-explained) covers this category in more depth for readers who want a fuller framework. **Slashing Risk: The Solana-Specific Nuance** **Slashing** is the mechanism that makes restaking economically meaningful. If a restaker violates the rules of a service they have opted into, slashing removes a portion of their staked capital as a penalty. This penalty is what makes the economic security guarantee credible to AVSs. On Ethereum, slashing is enforced at the base protocol layer. Validators who misbehave lose ETH as a consensus-level penalty enforced by the network itself. Solana's base layer does not currently implement slashing at the validator level. As the Solana vs Ethereum restaking comparison on Solana Compass explains, this difference has significant implications for how restaking risk is structured on each chain. All slashing in a Solana restaking position is a smart contract construct: each AVS defines its own slashing conditions in code, and violations are enforced by the restaking protocol's contracts rather than by Solana itself. Slashing risk is real in Solana restaking, but it is contract-enforced and AVS-specific rather than native-protocol-enforced. Before opting into any restaking position, understanding the specific conditions under which each AVS can slash is a necessary step.  **Liquidity and Withdrawal Risk** Restaking receipt tokens are not as liquid as LSTs. While tokens like JitoSOL and mSOL trade continuously and track their underlying value closely, receipt tokens for restaking positions often have limited secondary market liquidity. Some restaking protocols impose unbonding periods or withdrawal queues, meaning your capital is not immediately accessible once committed. In volatile markets, receipt tokens can trade at a discount to their underlying value. This **depeg** risk is a function of how much secondary market demand exists for the receipt token and how stable the protocol's withdrawal mechanics are under pressure. **Complexity and Monitoring Risk** A Solana restaking position involves more moving parts than simple staking or even liquid staking. The full stack may include a validator, an LST protocol, a restaking protocol, and multiple AVS contracts. Protocol parameter changes, AVS additions or removals, and yield composition shifts require active attention. A position that looks low-risk when entered can change character as protocols update their parameters or onboard new AVSs with different risk profiles.
Who Should Consider Solana Restaking?
Restaking is not for everyone. Its higher yield potential comes with meaningfully higher complexity and risk. The following profiles offer a rough framework for thinking about fit before committing capital. **Good fit:** • Holders already comfortable navigating multi-layer DeFi positions on Solana • Users familiar with how liquid staking tokens work and comfortable holding LST exposure • Those willing to accept smart contract and AVS-specific slashing risk in exchange for higher yield potential • Participants with a medium-to-long time horizon who can tolerate withdrawal queues without needing immediate access to capital • Readers who actively monitor their positions and adapt when protocol conditions change **Not a good fit:** • Users who need their capital to be immediately accessible at any time • Beginners who have not yet used liquid staking and are unfamiliar with LST mechanics • Those who require stable and predictable returns, since restaking yield is variable and partly denominated in protocol tokens • Anyone not comfortable holding exposure to smart contract risk across multiple contracts simultaneously If you are earlier in your Solana yield journey and want a simpler starting point, native staking or liquid staking offers a lower-risk foundation before adding restaking complexity on top. The yield mechanics are related, and understanding the base layer first makes the restaking layer easier to evaluate.
How to Monitor Solana Restaking Yields
Restaking yields are not static. AVS demand cycles shift, protocol incentive programs launch and wind down, and the number of active AVSs changes as protocols grow or add new services. A yield that looks attractive when you enter can look different several weeks later as early incentive programs mature. Manually tracking yield rates across multiple restaking protocols means visiting each protocol's interface individually, cross-referencing their reward structures, and comparing positions that may pay rewards in different tokens at different frequencies. This is time-consuming and easy to let slip when managing a broader portfolio. The [Lince Tracker](https://yields.lince.finance/tracker/solana/category/restaking) aggregates live yield data across active Solana restaking protocols in a single view. This makes it straightforward to compare current yield levels, see which protocols are actively distributing rewards, and monitor changes over time without maintaining separate tabs for each protocol.
Conclusion
Restaking extends the utility of your Solana stake beyond securing the base network. By routing the economic weight of your staked SOL or LST to external services called AVSs, restaking protocols create a three-layer yield stack: the base consensus reward, any LST premium carried into the position, and AVS-specific incentives on top. The risks stack alongside the yields. Smart contract exposure grows with each layer added to the position. Slashing on Solana is enforced at the contract level rather than the base protocol level, making AVS-specific conditions the relevant risk to understand before participating. Liquidity can be limited, withdrawal queues are real constraints, and monitoring complexity increases with each protocol added to the stack. Restaking suits holders who are already comfortable with DeFi complexity, understand how LSTs work, and are willing to monitor multi-contract positions actively. For those ready to explore, comparing live restaking yields across protocols is the logical next step before committing capital to a specific position.
FAQ
### What is restaking on Solana? Restaking is the process of reusing already-staked SOL or a liquid staking token to also secure one or more external networks or services called Actively Validated Services (AVSs). In exchange, restakers earn additional yield on top of base staking rewards. The same capital does two jobs at once without being split or unstaked. ### What is an Actively Validated Service (AVS)? An AVS is a network, protocol, or service that needs economic security to function but cannot build its own validator set from scratch. Restaking protocols allow AVSs to borrow security from existing Solana stake. In return, AVSs pay additional yield to the restakers whose capital backs them. Examples include oracle networks, data availability layers, and cross-chain bridge infrastructure. ### Is restaking the same as liquid staking? No. Liquid staking converts your SOL into a tradeable LST that continues earning staking rewards while staying accessible. Restaking takes staked SOL or an LST and routes it to secure additional services, earning additional rewards. The two can be combined: you can hold an LST and deposit it into a restaking protocol to capture both the LST yield and the restaking yield simultaneously. ### Can you lose SOL through restaking slashing on Solana? Potentially, yes. Solana's base protocol does not currently enforce slashing at the validator level. However, restaking protocols implement slashing through smart contract conditions that are specific to each AVS. If a restaker violates the rules of an AVS, the AVS contract may slash a portion of the staked capital. Understanding each AVS's slashing conditions before participating is an important step in the due diligence process. ### What yields can restaking on Solana produce? Yield depends on the protocol, the number of AVSs opted into, and current incentive levels. As a rough illustration, a restaking position built on a Solana LST earning roughly 8% might add several additional percentage points from AVS rewards, producing a combined estimate in the range of 10 to 15%. This figure is variable and partly paid in protocol tokens rather than SOL. No restaking yield is guaranteed, and early incentive programs compress over time as more capital enters the system. ### What is the difference between depositing native SOL vs an LST into a restaking protocol? Depositing an LST means your position already carries the full staking yield of that token, including any MEV and priority fee premium, before restaking rewards are added. Depositing native SOL earns staking rewards through the restaking protocol's validator, depending on the protocol's design. LST deposits typically produce a higher combined yield, but they require holding the LST before depositing, which adds one step to the entry process. ### How does the receipt token from restaking work? When you deposit into a restaking protocol, the protocol issues a receipt token representing your restaked position. This is analogous to how a liquid staking protocol gives you an LST in exchange for SOL. The receipt token tracks your balance and accrued rewards. Unlike an LST, receipt tokens often have limited secondary market liquidity and may be subject to an unbonding period before redemption, meaning you cannot always exit the position immediately.