The Solana (SOL) ecosystem is expanding rapidly and attracting an ever-growing pool of investors pouring liquidity into the burgeoning staking economy. With such an influx of funds, industry players are scrambling to get a piece of the pie by introducing competitive strategies to distinguish themselves from competitors and attract users to their platforms.
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has emerged as one of the first platforms to offer Solana users an innovative product via its new liquid staking token (LST) the BGSOL, which is meant to offer 30 million users access to staking rewards without the need to lock the funds, setting it apart from previous products. This new offering, which is gaining momentum and is being followed by other market leaders, makes liquid staking on Solana a top choice for DeFi users with the potential to surpass Ethereum. Meanwhile, for crypto exchanges, the growing demand for LST tokens could mean entering a new multi-million-dollar market.
Liquid Staking Value on the Rise
The Solana ecosystem is heavily reliant on the concept of staking, given its Proof-of-Stake network structure. This approach not only fosters a positive attitude towards the system’s integrity on the part of users but also provides a steady flow of income to both liquidity providers and validators. Liquid staking on Solana has been growing by leaps and bounds, doubling over a year to a total value locked of around $3.7 billion, up from $1.9 the year before. The leading protocols in this race are Marinade, Jito, and Sanctum, which hold a combined average of 77% of the value.
While major funds are the main players in this space, average users have to lock their SOL and wait for returns. The locked assets cannot be traded, leaving users hapless in case of network failures or price drops. However, the advent of such assets as BGSOL, BNSOL, and BBSOL offered by the leading exchanges has altered the paradigm by introducing the concept of liquid staking tokens.
The appearance of liquid staking assets has made the Solana ecosystem even more of a magnet for users by allowing assets to be traded even while being staked. The effects are already being felt as demand for Solana’s ecosystem’s native SOL has surged. The token has seen a yearly growth of 566%.
Exchanges Eye New User Opportunities with Staking
A number of exchanges besides Bitget are in the race for SOL, namely Binance and Bybit. However, the leaders are not in a hurry to reveal their product offerings at the moment, since premature attention to SOL could have a negative impact on the network’s load and valuation.
The launch of liquid staking by Bitget and other platforms is a major boost for Solana as a whole since it will act as a powerful stimulus to bolster security in expectation of new users and liquidity influxes. The launch of these new products will also make the staking concept more attractive to new audiences.
Crypto exchange leaders are extremely interested in attracting such users as well, simply because they will be able to cross-sell their other platform instruments and earn greater returns on trading volumes. Given Bitget’s growing dominance across the decentralized space and its new marketing strategy, it would be wise to consider that the platform will leverage its stance and reveal new SOL-related products at the most opportune moment.
The Competitive Edge of Liquid Staking
A major reason why major exchanges are racing to develop liquid staking products is the desire to attract as much SOL as possible to their hosted user accounts and thus create a favorable investment environment. As trading volumes on exchanges grow due to successful product launches, the key metrics, like assets under management, grow, thus positioning such exchanges in a favorable light from all angles. Without liquid staking, the value of the SOL will be nil, as the exchanges will not be able to accrue it, should the assets leave their user balance accounts upon expiration of staking terms.
The Bitget exchange has stated that it’s liquid staking for SOL will be attractive enough to beat the competition, featuring a host of features and functions that will connect it to the platform’s already rich lineup of Web3 products. As the exchange prepares to announce its latest innovation, it has recently reiterated its adherence to the core values of decentralization and the ongoing support for the crypto industry as a whole.