Solana stakers have collectively earned more than $1 billion this year. SOL Strategies wants to make sure that money flows through a healthier, more decentralized validator set.

The company, which trades on both NASDAQ under ticker STKE and the Canadian Securities Exchange as HODL, launched its liquid staking token STKESOL on January 20, 2026. At launch, more than 500,000 SOL were staked into the protocol. That figure has since climbed to roughly 691,000 SOL in total value locked.

How STKESOL actually works

STKESOL gives SOL holders a tradeable token that accrues staking rewards relative to the underlying SOL. The token is built on Solana’s audited SPL Stake Pool Program, meaning holders can participate in DeFi applications while their original SOL continues earning staking rewards in the background.

Rather than funneling everything to the biggest validators, STKESOL uses an algorithmic delegation model. The system routes stake to a diverse set of between 40 and 75 validators, selected through SOL Strategies’ proprietary Stakewiz Wiz Score methodology. That scoring system evaluates over 15 metrics across a 30-day window, covering factors like validator performance and contribution to decentralization.

DeFi integrations and revenue model

SOL Strategies lined up integrations with several prominent Solana DeFi platforms at launch, including Orca, Squads, Kamino, and Loopscale.

Orca is one of Solana’s largest decentralized exchanges. Kamino focuses on automated liquidity strategies. Squads provides multisig infrastructure for teams and treasuries. Loopscale handles structured lending.

SOL Strategies generates revenue from STKESOL through two channels: fees on deposits into the staking pool and a share of the staking rewards generated by the underlying SOL.

The company has also been expanding its infrastructure footprint through acquisitions. SOL Strategies acquired Houdini Swap for $18 million and also brought Darklake/Zyga into its portfolio.

The VanEck connection

SOL Strategies has been named a staking provider for the VanEck Solana ETF.

The risk side of the equation is worth considering. Liquid staking tokens introduce smart contract risk on top of the underlying staking risk. If there’s a bug in the SPL Stake Pool Program or if the Wiz Score methodology underperforms in selecting reliable validators, stakers could face losses or depeg scenarios. SOL Strategies notes the program has been audited, but audits reduce risk rather than eliminate it.