Solana Stake Pool Delegation Landscape

Phase

Active — applications openDifficulty 1Governance · No public DAO

Approx stake

1.092M SOL

Validators

101

Avg / validator

10.8k SOL

Metrics 2026-08-13 · rules 2026-08-13 · status 2026-08-13

Phase remains a practical target for an SFDP validator below 300k SOL with verifiable contributions. The current IPS weights are Contribution Review 25%, Sustainability 25%, Stake Weight 20%, Metrics and Telemetry 20%, and Client and Infrastructure Diversity 10%; older pending applications were reset under the bonded flow.

Best fit: SFDP + <300k SOL + verifiable ecosystem contribution

Cadence:

IPS is calculated every epoch from a rolling 10-epoch window; contribution reviews are quarterly.

Ongoing requirements:

Keep the Phase Bond active, remain in SFDP, stay below 300k SOL, and keep quarterly contribution evidence current; telemetry affects IPS scoring.

JPool

Active — incentives live; Community Good form temporarily closedDifficulty 2Governance · Admin multisig

Approx stake

1.350M SOL

Validators

212

Avg / validator

6.4k SOL

Metrics 2026-08-13 · rules 2026-08-13 · status 2026-08-13

JPool currently exposes Community Good, Direct Stake, Performance, and validator-funded Incentive Campaign paths. Incentives can attract Direct Stake and may improve matching opportunity, but do not guarantee a slot or delegation. JPool's launch thread describes automatic JSOL incentives, while its current protocol docs and live UI still expose claimable multi-token campaign mechanics; verify the live campaign card before funding or staking.

Best fit: Bonded eligibility + Community Good, Direct Stake, or performance

Cadence:

JPool caps total pool change at 2.5% per epoch, performs a full rebalance every five epochs, and can add up to 10 new validators per epoch; Direct Stake is available immediately.

Ongoing requirements:

Remain outside blacklists and the superminority, keep non-JPool stake below 750k SOL, keep inflation and MEV commissions within the published caps, publish identity, and maintain an active bond.

BlazeStake

Active — Verified Validators application openDifficulty 2Governance · Proposal DAO + gauges

Approx stake

919k SOL

Validators

187

Avg / validator

4.9k SOL

Metrics 2026-08-13 · rules 2026-08-14 · status 2026-08-14

The current public route is SolBlaze Verified Validators, which reviews operator legitimacy, uniqueness, and ecosystem contributions. SBGP-0018 passed SolBlaze DAO governance in April 2026 and proposed replacing the rotation-and-queue model with stake spread across accepted validators, with 0% commission validators receiving twice the base allocation of commissioned validators. The live table on 2026-08-14 was consistent with that design and showed base targets of about 1,470 SOL for commissioned validators and 2,941 SOL for 0% commission validators; no separate public rebalancer deployment date was found, and targets fluctuate with TVL, the validator set, and additional bonuses. A wallet below 5m veBLZE loses eligibility. Rewards commission must remain at or below 5% and MEV commission at or below 10%; validators that do not distribute MEV rewards are treated as charging 100% MEV commission. SolBlaze's May 19, 2026 Alpenglow announcement describes a separate strategy with up to 50,000 SOL total: qualifying operators can receive up to 2,000 SOL of mainnet stake for a 0%-commission validator or up to 1,000 SOL for a commissioned validator, reduced proportionally if oversubscribed. Both bonus tiers remain subject to the current commission gates. The live bonus form was still available on 2026-08-14; its current success UI says review may take place in the coming days, while the launch thread's expectation that approved applications would receive stake within a few epochs is historical wording, not a current SLA. Acceptance only makes a validator eligible for BlazeStake or additional incentive stake and does not guarantee an allocation, amount, timing, or duration.

Best fit: Public contribution review + 5m veBLZE + commission caps

Ongoing requirements:

Keep at least 5m veBLZE in the connected wallet, rewards commission at or below 5%, MEV commission at or below 10%, and validator identity and program information current.

DynoSol

Active — validator intake advertised; curated reviewDifficulty 3Governance · No public DAO

Approx stake

1.657M SOL

Validators

72

Avg / validator

23.0k SOL

Metrics 2026-08-13 · rules 2026-08-14 · status 2026-08-14

DynoSol's live site publishes a validator / stats section and embeds an 'Apply as a validator' form farther down on the same page. This research links to the official `#stats` route requested for validator intake instead of hard-coding the former direct Google Forms URL, so DynoSol retains control of the live form. Numerical Sustainable Validator Delta parameters from older documentation remain omitted because the live docs URL did not expose a verifiable public DynoSol page.

Best fit: Advertised validator intake + curated performance and contribution review

Cadence:

The current official FAQ says stake is reviewed and rebalanced after 15 epochs, around the 25th of the month.

Ongoing requirements:

Keep current performance and contribution evidence ready; selection and allocation remain curated and capacity-dependent, and the live application should be rechecked on DynoSol's site before submission.

DoubleZero

Active — infrastructure-gatedDifficulty 3–4Governance · Utility token / no governance

Approx stake

1.474M SOL

Validators

366

Avg / validator

4.0k SOL

Metrics 2026-08-13 · rules 2026-08-13 · status 2026-08-13

DoubleZero requires a Mainnet-Beta connection, at least 10k SOL of activated stake, commission no higher than 10%, at least 20 epochs, reasonable performance, and timely shred publication through a DoubleZero Edge. Connection alone does not qualify a validator.

Best fit: Mainnet-Beta connection + 10k activated stake + timely shreds

Ongoing requirements:

Maintain at least 10k activated stake, commission at or below 10%, reasonable performance, and timely shred publishing through a DoubleZero Edge.

Definity

Active — whitelist application openDifficulty 3 if region fitsGovernance · No public DAO

Approx stake

287k SOL

Validators

34

Avg / validator

8.5k SOL

Metrics 2026-08-13 · rules 2026-08-13 · status 2026-08-13

Definity's operator path uses an open whitelist application and a geographic diversity index. Its separate Direct Staking product lets users receive definSOL and direct stake to an eligible validator; Definity says matching may add up to 3.5× the user's eligible directed stake, producing up to 4.5× total attributed stake, subject to per-validator and program caps.

Best fit: SFDP standing + focus-region eligibility

Ongoing requirements:

Remain eligible on the operator whitelist; Direct Staking matching is capped, liquidity-dependent, and separate from whitelist admission.

JagPool

Active — application and waitlistDifficulty 3 if region fitsGovernance · No public DAO

Approx stake

751k SOL

Validators

84

Avg / validator

8.9k SOL

Metrics 2026-08-13 · rules 2026-08-13 · status 2026-08-13

JagPool currently targets LATAM and APAC. Its criteria include regional operating history, at least 20 active epochs, less than 10 hours of downtime in 30 days, commission limits, and either SFDP participation or at least 40k SOL of external stake. The waitlist is reviewed weekly, but admission is not guaranteed.

Best fit: LATAM/APAC; SFDP or 40k external stake

Cadence:

Applications are reviewed weekly; allocation remains capacity-dependent.

Ongoing requirements:

Operate in a supported LATAM/APAC location, maintain at least 20 active epochs, less than 10 hours of 30-day downtime, published identity channels, commission caps, and SFDP or at least 40k external stake.

StarPool

Active — applications openDifficulty 3 if region fitsGovernance · No public DAO

Approx stake

270 SOL

Validators

16

Avg / validator

16.9 SOL

Metrics 2026-08-13 · rules 2026-08-13 · status 2026-08-13

StarPool prioritizes decentralization and validators in underrepresented regions, including Africa, Latin America, Asia, Canada, and beyond. Geography, lower stake, minority-client use, and published identity can improve ranking; the very small observed allocation is a dated on-chain snapshot, not a promised target allocation.

Best fit: Underrepresented region + 50k–250k total stake + ≤5% commission

Cadence:

The published strategy says the pool is rebalanced every two weeks.

Ongoing requirements:

Operate outside OFAC-sanctioned countries, keep validator commission at or below 5% over 90 days, use Jito MEV, remain off the Foundation blacklist, and stay within 50k–250k total stake.

Edgevana

Active pages — observed allocation materially reducedDifficulty 4Governance · Corporate

Approx stake

2.6k SOL

Validators

12

Avg / validator

216 SOL

Metrics 2026-08-13 · rules 2026-08-13 · status 2026-08-13

Edgevana's program and eligibility pages remain live, but its V3 page contains differing target-set counts, so validators should verify the live ranking rather than assume a fixed top-50 cutoff. The observed EdgeSol allocation has continued to fall: the August 13 on-chain snapshot found about 2.6k SOL across 12 validators. This supports a material reduction only; it does not establish the cause or guarantee that the remaining allocation will persist.

Best fit: Only Edgevana infrastructure + competitive target-set ranking

Cadence:

The published algorithm evaluates eligible validators each epoch.

Ongoing requirements:

Remain on Edgevana infrastructure and meet the hard eligibility gates, including validator commission no higher than 10%; age tier is a ranking input, while competitive V3 inflation and MEV commission inputs use 100-epoch averages.

SolStrategies

Active — algorithmic selectionDifficulty 4Governance · Corporate

Approx stake

615k SOL

Validators

75

Avg / validator

8.2k SOL

Metrics 2026-08-13 · rules 2026-08-13 · status 2026-08-13

SolStrategies uses the 30-day mean StakeWiz score as its primary input and targets roughly equal delegation across 40–80 validators. Its strategy also prohibits sandwiching and Ghost Logs. No public application path was found, so strong measurable performance is the relevant public route.

Best fit: Maintain a high 30-day mean StakeWiz score

Ongoing requirements:

Maintain a competitive 30-day mean StakeWiz score and comply with the published anti-sandwiching and Ghost Logs rules.

Vault

Active — permissionless and Board-gated pathsDifficulty 4Governance · Gauge governance

Approx stake

1.320M SOL

Validators

144

Avg / validator

9.2k SOL

Metrics 2026-08-13 · rules 2026-08-13 · status 2026-08-13

Permissionless validators can receive user-directed stake; validators meeting the minimum performance requirements can also participate in gauges, which receive 10% of undirected stake. Validator Board approval is required to compete for Direct Stake Leaders (40%) and Elite Performance (50%). Current docs describe a 25% service fee on earnings from Vault undirected stake in Direct/Elite cohorts. Allowlisted validators must also vote on every SIMD proposal that reaches an on-chain vote; meeting criteria does not guarantee delegation.

Best fit: Permissionless directed stake/gauges; Board review for Direct and Elite

Cadence:

Direct Stake, Elite Performance, and gauge allocations are dynamic; verify the current lists and epoch rules.

Ongoing requirements:

For Board-approved Direct/Elite eligibility, maintain the published commission, uptime, service-fee, and Allowlist governance requirements; permissionless directed stake and gauges remain separate.

Layer33 / IndieSOL

Active — curated coalitionDifficulty 5Governance · No public DAO

Approx stake

301 SOL

Validators

21

Avg / validator

14.3 SOL

Metrics 2026-08-13 · rules 2026-08-13 · status 2026-08-13

Layer33 describes itself as a curated coalition of independent validators and IndieSOL as its LST/stake pool. The site's combined operator stake is not IndieSOL pool TVL; this entry uses a separate dated on-chain pool observation. Direct contact is only a possible discovery path and does not imply eligibility, acceptance, or delegation.

Best fit: Independent operator + sustained technical and ecosystem contribution

Ongoing requirements:

Public positioning emphasizes independent ownership, geographic distribution, technical capability, and contribution beyond node operation; internal selection rules are not published.

Marinade

Active — bond and auction marketDifficulty 5Governance · Proposal DAO

Approx stake

2.341M SOL

Validators

46

Avg / validator

50.9k SOL

Metrics 2026-08-13 · rules 2026-08-13 · status 2026-08-13

Marinade SAM currently requires a supported node version, effective inflation commission no higher than 7% after allowed offsets, more than 80% uptime in each of the last three epochs, and a funded PSR bond. Decentralization constraints can cap further stake but are not strict eligibility gates. The observed metric uses SOFZP's named MARINADE pool allocation, not its broader MARINADE group that also includes native-stake authorities. Marinade Select is a separate invite-only, KYC and bonded curated set.

Best fit: SAM eligibility + funded PSR bond and competitive bid economics

Cadence:

SAM allocation is auction-driven and changes with bids, eligibility, bonds, and stake matching.

Ongoing requirements:

Maintain supported software, effective commission and uptime limits, and a funded PSR bond; decentralization constraints can cap additional stake rather than acting as strict eligibility gates.

Jito

Active — StakeNet algorithmic selectionDifficulty 5Governance · Proposal DAO

Approx stake

9.921M SOL

Validators

356

Avg / validator

27.9k SOL

Metrics 2026-08-13 · rules 2026-08-13 · status 2026-08-13

Jito's current gates include MEV commission no higher than 10%, validator commission no higher than 5%, at least 5,000 SOL and five voting epochs, and at least 97% expected-slot votes. Selection then uses four ranking tiers. The running BAM score is now a binary component of the current eligibility/scoring system, so it is no longer described as a separate optional path.

Best fit: Strict StakeNet gates and ranking, including the running BAM score

Cadence:

The official FAQ says regular rebalancing occurs every 10 epochs, while instant-unstake eligibility checks run every epoch.

Ongoing requirements:

Maintain validator, MEV, and priority-fee commission limits; stake age, voting performance, safety, blacklist and superminority gates; both tip-distribution and priority-fee merkle-authority checks; client requirements; and current BAM eligibility.

Shinobi xSHIN

Active — performance-only selectionDifficulty 5Governance · No public DAO

Approx stake

1.074M SOL

Validators

52

Avg / validator

20.7k SOL

Metrics 2026-08-13 · rules 2026-08-13 · status 2026-08-13

Shinobi xSHIN remains a performance-history target with epoch-by-epoch rebalancing. Its public strategy explicitly averages block skip rate over 10 epochs and identifies other performance inputs, but does not provide stable static weights for every live metric, so this article does not copy third-party weights that may change.

Best fit: Performance-history target; no paid ranking or quick application

Cadence:

Pool stake rebalances every epoch; the published block-skip input is averaged over the last 10 epochs.

Ongoing requirements:

Maintain top-tier observable voting, latency, skip-rate, consensus, and block-production performance under the live methodology.

Phase IPS / SFDP resources

Phase's current bonded model scores Contribution Review — 25%, Sustainability — 25%, Stake Weight — 20%, Metrics and Telemetry — 20%, and Client and Infrastructure Diversity — 10%. Applications are open, and an active refundable Phase Bond is part of the current flow.

Vault public validator lists and delegation buckets

Vault documents permissionless user-directed stake and permissionless gauges for validators meeting minimum performance requirements, separately from its Board-gated Direct Stake Leaders and Elite Performance buckets. Its Allowlist Criteria say that validators on the Allowlist must vote on every SIMD proposal that reaches an on-chain vote; missing a vote may result in removal from the Allowlist. Public list placement or meeting the published criteria does not guarantee delegation.

Marinade Select

Marinade describes Marinade Select as a curated or vetted institutional validator set. This research note does not imply acceptance, participation, or delegation.

Marinade SAM resources

SAM resources provide related Marinade context for dashboards, auction data, validator bond tooling, and stake matching mechanics.

Marinade MIP-23 — proposed PSR downtime change

Current PSR policy assigns validator bonds the 50–99% uptime band and the Marinade reserve the portion below 50%, with a 1% grace period. Published on the Marinade forum on August 14, 2026, MIP-23 proposes moving the full compensable 0–99% range to SAM validator bonds. The proposal reports 186.9 SOL funded by the reserve across 131 settlements involving 72 validators since MIP-2, about 12% of downtime compensation, and notes that per-validator exposure caps rose from 2% to 15% of TVL. If adopted, the effective epoch must be announced at least three epochs ahead. Marinade Select is out of scope. PSR is bond-funded compensation, not Solana protocol slashing. This is a forum proposal, not adopted or executed policy; no corresponding Realms vote was verified as of August 15, 2026.

Jito BAM eligibility and claim monitoring

Jito's current StakeNet scoring system uses the running BAM score as a binary eligibility component. The third-party claim dashboard remains useful for subsidy monitoring, but does not determine StakeNet selection or guarantee delegation.

rkuSOL / Raiku — live LST, pilot-only validator path

rkuSOL is a live Raiku-branded LST built on Sanctum stake-pool infrastructure. Raiku says deposits are allocated to validators running its AOT/JIT-enabled client; Sanctum provides the LST and stake-pool infrastructure. It is a supplemental monitoring target, not a 16th entry in the current 15-program comparison: client access remains limited to pilot partners, and the public validator form linked from Raiku's application page returned HTTP 404 when rechecked on August 15, 2026. Raiku's general contact channel is an inquiry path only; it does not guarantee admission, a validator-list slot, stake, timing, fee revenue, or yield.

JPool Community Good intake — temporarily closed

JPool's current Community Good documentation still tells eligible validators to apply, but its canonical linked Google Form displayed “temporarily closed” when rechecked on August 13, 2026. Treat the official instructions and the live intake state separately; monitor both before acting. Applying never implies acceptance, stake, or delegation.

JPool Incentives Market — validator-funded Direct Stake campaigns

Launched August 13, 2026, the Incentives Market lets a validator fund an on-chain campaign for JPool Direct Stakers. A funded fixed campaign can add bonus yield within its capacity and dates; protocol docs also describe proportional fixed-budget campaigns. Attracting Direct Stake may improve a validator's Direct Stake ranking and matching opportunity, but it is not JPool-funded delegation and guarantees neither a slot nor matching.

Edgevana / EdgeSol reported delegation reduction

Bryan of Titan Analytics, an operator whose validator is listed on Edgevana, reported on July 13, 2026 that Solana Foundation delegation had been removed from the EdgeSol pool. Validators.app showed 41,444 SOL across 50 nodes on July 21, materially below the prior snapshot but not zero. This corroborates a reduction, not the reason or a complete removal; no corresponding official Foundation statement was found. Edgevana’s current program pages remain live.

Definity Direct Staking — separate user product

Definity Direct Staking lets a user deposit SOL, receive definSOL, and attribute stake to an eligible validator. Definity says pool matching can add up to 3.5× the user's eligible directed stake, producing up to 4.5× total attributed stake, subject to a 20,000 SOL per-validator cap, a 60,000 SOL program budget, liquidity, eligibility, and epoch timing. Definity describes the flow as non-custodial; staking rewards accrue through definSOL, while exits use a market swap or epoch-boundary pool withdrawal. This user-facing product is separate from the validator-operator whitelist application and does not imply operator admission or delegation.

Pye Finance SpeedStake

Pye Finance publishes validator-facing documentation and a SpeedStake product/demo that appear relevant to validator discovery, stake routing, or delegation workflow research. Treat as a source-linked monitoring target until program mechanics, validator requirements, fees, and any onboarding/application path are verified live.