Solana’s liquid staking market just got a new entrant with a genuinely different pitch. Raiku, an infrastructure startup founded by Robin Nordnes, launched $rkuSOL on June 3, introducing what it calls the first liquid staking token on Solana that derives yield not just from staking rewards and MEV, but also from blockspace revenue generated through auctions.

How blockspace auctions change the yield equation

The system uses two auction types: Ahead-of-Time (AOT) auctions, which allow users to pre-book blockspace up to 60 seconds in advance, and Just-in-Time (JIT) auctions for more immediate needs. Raiku claims these auctions enable sub-30ms pre-confirmations, which is the kind of speed guarantee that high-frequency traders and time-sensitive DeFi protocols would pay a premium for.

Current annual percentage yields for $rkuSOL land between approximately 3.86% and 5.77%, depending on which platform you’re using.

The launch ecosystem and early metrics

Raiku didn’t launch $rkuSOL in a vacuum. The token integrates with Sanctum for deposits and has liquidity partnerships with Kamino, Loopscale, and Exponent right out of the gate.

Early on-chain data tells a more modest story. Initial supply sat at roughly 646 $rkuSOL with low trading volume post-launch.

Raiku raised $13.5 million in 2025 from investors including Pantera Capital and Jump Crypto, money earmarked for building out its block inclusion technology and blockspace marketplace infrastructure.

Solana’s liquid staking boom provides tailwinds

Solana’s liquid staking market has reportedly grown roughly six-fold over two years, reaching approximately 64 million SOL staked through various LST providers.

What this means for investors

The APY range of 3.86% to 5.77% is competitive but not dramatically higher than what established Solana LSTs already offer. With only around 646 $rkuSOL in initial supply, liquidity is thin, meaning wider spreads, potential depegging risk during volatile markets, and difficulty exiting large positions quickly.