DeFi

Sanctum

A protocol that unifies fragmented liquidity across Solana's liquid staking token (LST) ecosystem by enabling instant swaps between any LSTs and providing the INF token as a unified liquid staking position. Sanctum solves the cold-start liquidity problem for new LST providers and allows validators to launch their own LSTs.

IDsanctumAliasSanctum LST

Plain meaning

Start with the shortest useful explanation before going deeper.

A protocol that unifies fragmented liquidity across Solana's liquid staking token (LST) ecosystem by enabling instant swaps between any LSTs and providing the INF token as a unified liquid staking position. Sanctum solves the cold-start liquidity problem for new LST providers and allows validators to launch their own LSTs.

Mental model

Use the quick analogy first so the term is easier to reason about when you meet it in code, docs, or prompts.

Think of it as a market mechanic used to price, route, or move capital through liquidity apps.

Technical context

Place the term inside its Solana layer so the definition is easier to reason about.

AMMs, routing, liquidity, lending, and trading infrastructure.

Why builders care

Turn the term from vocabulary into something operational for product and engineering work.

This term unlocks adjacent concepts quickly, so it works best when you treat it as a junction instead of an isolated definition.

AI handoff

AI handoff

Use this compact block when you want to give an agent or assistant grounded context without dumping the entire page.

Sanctum (sanctum)
Category: DeFi
Definition: A protocol that unifies fragmented liquidity across Solana's liquid staking token (LST) ecosystem by enabling instant swaps between any LSTs and providing the INF token as a unified liquid staking position. Sanctum solves the cold-start liquidity problem for new LST providers and allows validators to launch their own LSTs.
Aliases: Sanctum LST
Related: Liquid Staking, Marinade Finance, JitoSOL
Glossary Copilot

Ask grounded Solana questions without leaving the glossary.

Use glossary context, relationships, mental models, and builder paths to get structured answers instead of generic chat output.

Explain this code

Optional: paste Anchor, Solana, or Rust code so the Copilot can map primitives back to glossary terms.

Ask a glossary-grounded question

Ask a glossary-grounded question

The Copilot will answer using the current term, related concepts, mental models, and the surrounding glossary graph.

Concept graph

See the term as part of a network, not a dead-end definition.

These branches show which concepts this term touches directly and what sits one layer beyond them.

Branch

Liquid Staking

A mechanism where staked SOL is represented by a transferable token (LST) that accrues staking rewards while remaining usable in DeFi. Instead of locking SOL with a validator, users deposit into a liquid staking pool and receive tokens like mSOL (Marinade), jitoSOL (Jito), or bSOL (BlazeStake). LSTs typically appreciate against SOL at the staking APY.

Branch

Marinade Finance

The largest liquid staking protocol on Solana. Users deposit SOL and receive mSOL, a liquid staking token that appreciates as staking rewards accrue (~6-7% APY). Marinade delegates stake across 400+ validators using an automated scoring algorithm, promoting decentralization. It also offers Marinade Native for direct staking without an LST.

Branch

JitoSOL

The liquid staking token issued by Jito, representing staked SOL that earns both standard staking rewards and MEV tips. JitoSOL often offers higher APY (~7-8%) than other LSTs because Jito validators share MEV revenue with stakers. The underlying SOL is delegated to validators running the Jito client.

Next concepts to explore

Keep the learning chain moving instead of stopping at one definition.

These are the next concepts worth opening if you want this term to make more sense inside a real Solana workflow.

DeFi

Liquid Staking

A mechanism where staked SOL is represented by a transferable token (LST) that accrues staking rewards while remaining usable in DeFi. Instead of locking SOL with a validator, users deposit into a liquid staking pool and receive tokens like mSOL (Marinade), jitoSOL (Jito), or bSOL (BlazeStake). LSTs typically appreciate against SOL at the staking APY.

DeFi

Marinade Finance

The largest liquid staking protocol on Solana. Users deposit SOL and receive mSOL, a liquid staking token that appreciates as staking rewards accrue (~6-7% APY). Marinade delegates stake across 400+ validators using an automated scoring algorithm, promoting decentralization. It also offers Marinade Native for direct staking without an LST.

DeFi

JitoSOL

The liquid staking token issued by Jito, representing staked SOL that earns both standard staking rewards and MEV tips. JitoSOL often offers higher APY (~7-8%) than other LSTs because Jito validators share MEV revenue with stakers. The underlying SOL is delegated to validators running the Jito client.

DeFi

Security Token

Blockchain token representing a regulated financial security (equity, debt, fund share) subject to securities law. Requires KYC/AML, transfer restrictions, and regulatory reporting. On Solana, implemented with Token-2022's transfer hook and default account state extensions.

Commonly confused with

Terms nearby in vocabulary, acronym, or conceptual neighborhood.

These entries are easy to mix up when you are reading quickly, prompting an LLM, or onboarding into a new layer of Solana.

DeFislippage

Slippage

The difference between the expected price of a swap and the actual execution price due to pool ratio changes between submission and execution. Users set slippage tolerance (e.g., 0.5-1%) as a maximum acceptable deviation; the transaction reverts if exceeded. High slippage occurs in thin pools or large trades relative to pool depth.

DeFistablecoin

Stablecoin

A token pegged to a stable asset, typically the US dollar. Major stablecoins on Solana include USDC (Circle, natively minted), USDT (Tether), and UXD (algorithmic). Stablecoins are critical DeFi primitives used as trading pairs, lending collateral, and yield farming. USDC on Solana uses the SPL Token program with freeze authority retained by Circle.

AliasUSDCAliasUSDT
DeFiswap

Swap

The exchange of one token for another through a DEX, either via an AMM pool or an order book. The user specifies an input token/amount and receives output tokens at the current market rate minus slippage and fees. On Solana, swaps settle in a single transaction (~400ms) with fees typically 0.01-0.3% per trade.

Related terms

Follow the concepts that give this term its actual context.

Glossary entries become useful when they are connected. These links are the shortest path to adjacent ideas.

DeFiliquid-staking

Liquid Staking

A mechanism where staked SOL is represented by a transferable token (LST) that accrues staking rewards while remaining usable in DeFi. Instead of locking SOL with a validator, users deposit into a liquid staking pool and receive tokens like mSOL (Marinade), jitoSOL (Jito), or bSOL (BlazeStake). LSTs typically appreciate against SOL at the staking APY.

DeFimarinade

Marinade Finance

The largest liquid staking protocol on Solana. Users deposit SOL and receive mSOL, a liquid staking token that appreciates as staking rewards accrue (~6-7% APY). Marinade delegates stake across 400+ validators using an automated scoring algorithm, promoting decentralization. It also offers Marinade Native for direct staking without an LST.

DeFijito-sol

JitoSOL

The liquid staking token issued by Jito, representing staked SOL that earns both standard staking rewards and MEV tips. JitoSOL often offers higher APY (~7-8%) than other LSTs because Jito validators share MEV revenue with stakers. The underlying SOL is delegated to validators running the Jito client.

More in category

Stay in the same layer and keep building context.

These entries live beside the current term and help the page feel like part of a larger knowledge graph instead of a dead end.

DeFi

AMM (Automated Market Maker)

A protocol that enables token swaps using algorithmic pricing against pooled liquidity instead of matching individual buyers and sellers. AMMs use mathematical formulas (typically constant product x*y=k) to determine prices based on the ratio of tokens in a liquidity pool. On Solana, major AMMs include Raydium, Orca, and Meteora.

DeFi

CLMM (Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker)

An AMM design where liquidity providers concentrate their capital within specific price ranges instead of across the full 0-to-infinity range. CLMMs dramatically improve capital efficiency—LPs earn more fees per dollar deposited within their active range. If the price moves outside the range, the position becomes inactive. Orca Whirlpools and Raydium CLMM are leading implementations on Solana.

DeFi

Liquidity Pool

A smart-contract-held reserve of two or more tokens that enables trading via an AMM. Users deposit token pairs in specified ratios to become liquidity providers and earn trading fees. Pools are identified by their token pair and fee tier. Pool depth (total value locked) determines price impact for trades.

DeFi

LP Token

A token issued to liquidity providers representing their proportional share of a pool's reserves and accrued fees. LP tokens can be burned to withdraw the underlying assets. The value of LP tokens changes as the pool's token ratios shift and fees accumulate. LP tokens are often stakeable in yield farming programs for additional rewards.