nxSOL allows users to earn SOL staking rewards and additional yield in Solana’s DeFi ecosystem.
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 allows users to earn staking rewards while maintaining liquidity, allowing them to withdraw or use funds in Solana’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem at any time. Nansen said the project aims to make staking on Solana more liquid and easier to use.
Sanctum – which has a TVL of $2.5 billion, up significantly from April’s $900 million – is the fourth largest protocol on Solana and helps improve the utility of staked SOL. Currently, approximately 68% of SOL’s total supply is staked, or approximately 372 million tokens worth $74.5 billion. Staked SOL averages an estimated annual return of 4.38%, 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 approximately $835 million in TVL and an average 30-day APY of 6.89%.
The addition of nxSOL reflects a broader shift on Solana, where liquid staking helps drive growth and make the network more flexible, decentralized, and user-friendly. Solana’s broader ecosystem has seen strong growth this year as more investors are attracted to its fast transactions and low fees.
“nxSOL marks the next chapter in Nansen’s staking journey, expanding our reach in Solana while remaining true to our mission of making on-chain staking simple, liquid and secure,” said Alex Svanevik, CEO of Nansen. “It’s about opening up new horizons for users and builders, as staking becomes an integral part of the on-chain economy.”
The partnership comes as Nansen expands its staking presence. Since acquiring validation platform StakewithUs last year, the company’s total staked assets have grown from $60 million to more than $2 billion, spanning more than 20 blockchain networks and 350,000 stakeholders, according to a press release seen by The Defiant.