Sanctum LSTs Paid $230M as TVL Reached $1.9 Billion

About $230 million in staking rewards has reached holders of Solana liquid-staking tokens through Sanctum since 2024, according to a post on X. DefiLlama’s on-chain tracker records approximately $233.85 million in cumulative fees for Sanctum Validator LSTs, combining staking rewards and related fees. The broader fee measure is not identical to the reward estimate.

By late Q3 2026, Sanctum’s total value locked (TVL) reached a record 18.62 million SOL, worth more than $1.9 billion. TVL rose 11.9% quarter over quarter, extending growth to 12 consecutive quarters; in August 2026, Sanctum briefly overtook Jupiter as Solana’s largest protocol by TVL.

How does Sanctum’s liquid-staking model work?

A liquid staking token, or LST, acts as a receipt for SOL staked through a provider. The underlying SOL continues earning staking rewards in the background, while the receipt remains tradable and usable elsewhere instead of leaving the holder’s capital frozen until a staking term ends.

Sanctum supports more than 200 validator-specific or branded LSTs. The potential count could exceed 1,000 once every branded token joins the system.

Every supported token can swap through Infinity, a shared liquidity pool built for low-slippage trading among the LSTs. A new token can draw on that pool, lowering the launch barrier because issuers do not need to build a standalone trading market.

What returns do LST holders receive?

Yields have generally remained in the mid-to-high 5% annual percentage yield range, with recent readings around 5.7% APY. Returns can exceed plain staking when validators share MEV income and fees with holders.

Maximal extractable value, or MEV, is additional revenue validators can capture by ordering transactions within a block. When validators share part of that income with stakers, holders receive a boost on top of base staking rewards.

How has Sanctum expanded its market?

Sanctum launched its liquid-staking infrastructure in 2024 and has positioned itself as Solana’s leading liquid staking provider. Branded tokens including JupSOL, associated with Jupiter, and bbSOL, associated with Bybit, have continued to grow within its ecosystem.

The protocol rolled out a 2-of-3 multisig model in its consumer app, requiring two of three keys to approve each transaction. It also introduced Sanctum Wrapped SOL, or swSOL.

What changes for validators and stakers?

For smaller validator operators, a branded token backed by Infinity’s shared liquidity can lower the cost of entering the LST market. The model may make it easier to attract delegators who otherwise default to the biggest names because a new receipt does not need a standalone trading pool.

Concentration is one material risk. When one protocol becomes the main gateway for liquid staking, failures in its security or operations can affect a large share of the ecosystem.

Smart-contract and liquidity risks also persist, particularly during sharp market swings. With more than 200 LSTs today and a potential count above 1,000 including branded versions, holders must distinguish tokens with deep liquidity from those with thinner trading markets. Low-slippage design does not remove execution risk when underlying markets move sharply.

The next market-structure test is whether Infinity can preserve deep liquidity and low-slippage swaps if the potential LST count moves above 1,000. Whether Sanctum converts its brief August 2026 TVL lead into a durable gateway position will depend on maintaining that liquidity while its security and operations carry a larger share of ecosystem activity.