Table of Contents
Key Takeaways:
- Solana Staking with one tap: MoonPay’s new feature requires just $1 minimum with no lock-up periods
- mpSOL tokens: Users receive liquid staking derivatives that accrue rewards every 48 hours
- Geographic limits: Available in 100+ countries but blocked in the EEA and New York
- Yield competition: Outpaces Ethereum’s 4-5% staking returns as SOL TVL grows
Solana Staking: From On-Ramps to Yield Farms
MoonPay, best known for helping newcomers buy crypto with credit cards, has taken its first step into decentralized finance (DeFi) with a Solana staking product. The feature, live today in most major markets except the European Economic Area (EEA) and New York, promises to turn the company’s 30 million users into instant yield farmers with a single tap on your smartphone.
The mechanics are quite intentionally simple:
- Users stake Solana (SOL) through MoonPay’s app
- Users receive mpSOL tokens that represent the assets users stake
- Users earn 8.49% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) with payouts every two days
- Users can unstake at any time by converting their mpSOL back to SOL
In the background, MoonPay partners with staking infrastructure providers Kiln and Sanctum to manage all aspects of validator operations while removing the complexity of interacting with the blockchain.
Why Solana? The Yield Play
The adoption of Solana over Ethereum or other networks was intentional, for a few reasons:
- Higher Yield: SOL’s around 8.5% APY practically double ETH’s regular 4.5% APY
- Technical Fit: The speed of Solana’s transactions translates to near-instant unstaking
- Market timing: SOL staking is continuously growing, now getting closer to its January pick of around $11B
So far, users are looking for yield, but they don’t want to become experts on slashing risks or validator nodes, for example, and that’s what we are talking about here. The product is designed for the casual crypto investor who is comfortable holding crypto in exchange accounts, earning very little interest.
The Fine Print: Liquidity vs. Regulation
While MoonPay promotes flexibility, there are some limitations, like no access for the European Economic Area (EEA), for the moment, and New York, despite recent BitLicense and Money Transmitter approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). Also, there may be risks associated with funds relying on the Kiln/Sanctum infrastructure.
On the other hand, the announcement comes after Robinhood launched Solana staking in February this year, and shows a larger trend of fintechs competing with DeFi platforms like Marinade Finance.
Mainstreaming Crypto Yield
MoonPay just made Solana staking super easy, almost like a regular and simple savings account. This is a big step for crypto, pushing it closer to mainstream finance. They’ve essentially taken a specialized DeFi thing and made it available right through an app store. We’ll have to see what this means for the broader Solana ecosystem. Will it help it grow, or will it lead to too much centralization?
Final Thought: When staking becomes as easy as a savings account, will users still care what validators do?
For more Solana staking-related stories, read: Solana ETF $SSK Smashes $33M Debut: Staking Rewards Fuel Institutional Demand
