Bybit Margin Staked SOL: Unlock higher yields with less effort

Staking can be a great way to earn yield in crypto, and Solana (SOL) is one of the most popular blockchain platforms for doing so. However, setting up and running a Solana validator node is technically complex. Additionally, financial requirements for Solana validators are high. While the official minimum stake is just 0.01 SOL (around $1.33), in reality, a typical Solana validator needs more than 50,000 SOL staked just to break even — an investment of about $6.66 million (as of Mar 28, 2025).

Most crypto users who would like to benefit from staking rewards on Solana simply don’t have that kind of capital. And many don’t want the hassle of setting up a full validator node.

Back in September 2024, Bybit introduced bbSOL, a liquid staking token (LST) that lets you earn Solana staking rewards with minimal investment, and no need to manage a validator node.

bbSOL has been a major success, allowing Bybit users to earn staking rewards without technical or financial barriers. Now, Bybit is taking it a step further with Margin Staked SOL — a new Solana staking product that utilizes bbSOL and offers leveraged borrowing to amplify the rewards.

Key Takeaways:

• Margin Staked SOL is a Bybit product that allows you to earn SOL staking rewards and utilize leverage of up to 2x to amplify your earnings.

• The product is easy to use for crypto investors at all levels of expertise, with no technical setups or large financial commitments typically involved in direct Solana staking.

What is Margin Staked SOL?

Margin Staked SOL is a Bybit leveraged liquid staking product that’s designed to help you earn Solana staking rewards with minimal hassle. Using it, you can invest your SOL and Bybit will allocate the funds to Solana blockchain validators, allowing you to earn staking rewards. When you stake through Margin Staked SOL, you receive bbSOL, an LST that serves as a deposit certificate and accrues staking rewards. Unlike standard bbSOL staking, Margin Staked SOL allows you to use leverage of up to 2x.

For example, if you have 100 SOL and opt for 2x leverage, the total amount committed to Solana staking will be 300 SOL — your 100 SOL principal plus the borrowed 200 SOL. You’ll pay interest (which is variable and calculated hourly) on the borrowed amount.

Bybit allocates your total staking amount through Sanctum (CLOUD), Solana's leading liquid staking solution. Sanctum's smart contract distributes staked funds across multiple validators to optimize the total yield.

The key advantage of Margin Staked SOL is its capacity to amplify staking rewards through leverage. In addition, you don't need to handle the technical complexities of running a Solana validator. The minimum investment required is just 0.5 SOL (around $70), drastically lower than the millions of dollars needed to run a profitable validator node in Solana's highly competitive staking ecosystem.

How does Margin Staked SOL work?

Upon committing your funds to Margin Staked SOL, you’ll receive the bbSOL LST. All staking rewards accrue in this asset, and you can redeem your investment at any time by exchanging bbSOL for your original SOL. After deducting interest on the borrowed funds, you’ll receive your SOL, along with all the accrued rewards. bbSOL accumulates rewards every time a Solana epoch is completed, typically taking 2–3 days.

As an LST, bbSOL normally allows you to keep your original SOL locked while using the liquid token across the Solana decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, and within Bybit products like On-Chain Earn, Bybit Savings and Crypto Loans. However, when bbSOL is issued via Margin Staked SOL, it must remain locked, and cannot be used in other Bybit or DeFi products. It acts solely as your deposit confirmation, and continues accruing rewards until you withdraw from Solana staking via Margin Staked SOL.

Interest on the borrowed funds within Margin Staked SOL is calculated hourly, with any duration under one hour rounded up to a full hour. The interest rate is variable, and updates every hour. You can check the current rate in your account under Record History.

Rewards redemption

Rewards in Margin Staked SOL aren’t distributed immediately. Instead, they accumulate in your bbSOL, and can be redeemed at any time alongside your SOL principal investment. Bybit provides two redemption options for bbSOL:

1. Instant Redemption — This option allows you to receive your original SOL immediately, with no Solana gas fees charged. bbSOL typically trades close to parity with SOL or slightly above, but the exchange rate at the time of redemption is determined by a third-party provider. This rate may not be as favorable as the on-chain rate. The daily limit for instant redemptions is 400,000 SOL.

2. Postponed Redemption — This option has a waiting period of approximately one to four days, and includes Solana gas fees. However, it generally offers a better exchange rate than instant redemption.

If your PnL position declines beyond a certain level during staking, Bybit will send you a margin call notification via email, prompting you to either redeem your investment or contribute more SOL. If your PnL drops even further, an automatic stop-loss transaction will be triggered to redeem your funds and cover the loan and accrued interest. These measures are designed to protect you from unexpected losses.

Margin Staked SOL vs. On-Chain Earn

Besides Margin Staked SOL, Bybit also offers another product for those who would like to earn yields from hassle-free decentralized staking: On-Chain Earn. There are three key differences between the two products: 

1) Unlike On-Chain Earn, Margin Staked SOL allows you to use leverage, amplifying your potential returns and risks. 

2) On-Chain Earn creates opportunities for staking on several blockchains, while Margin Staked SOL is a solution that’s designed exclusively for Solana staking.

3) Staked assets in On-Chain Earn can be withdrawn and utilized in their respective blockchain ecosystems, whereas the bbSOL from Margin Staked SOL is locked solely for yield generation, and cannot be used elsewhere. 

How to get started with Margin Staked SOL

Here’s how to get started with staking your SOL.

Step 1: In your account’s navigation pane, click on Finance, and then Margin Staked SOL.

Step 2: On the left side, you’ll see the APR chart for the product, containing information on the Net APR; the trend over the past 1,7 or 30 days; and the highest and lowest Net APRs over a selected time period.

Step 3: On the right side, you can set options for your Margin Staked SOL (the leverage ratio and the SOL amount to transfer from your main account). You’ll see the amount of automatically calculated bbSOL you’ll receive, total borrowed amount and estimated daily yield.

Step 4: After setting your options, click on Stake Now, check the acknowledgment box and click on Confirm.

To redeem your SOL:

Step 1: On the right side of the Margin Staked SOL page, click on My Investments to view a detailed breakdown of your bbSOL holdings. Then, click on either Instant Redemption or Postponed Redemption. (Note: Instant Redemption features a daily limit, while Postponed Redemption imposes no limits.)

Step 2: On the confirmation pop-up window, enter the amount of bbSOL you wish to redeem, or click on Max to redeem your full balance. Review the details, then click on Instant Redemption or Postponed Redemption to proceed, depending upon your earlier choice. 

Step 3: Double-check the details and click on Confirm to finalize your redemption on the redemption confirmation pop-up. Your redeemed SOL will be sent to your Funding Account.

Until Apr 4, 2025, 10AM UTC, you can also take advantage of Bybit’s Lucky Draw campaign that’s dedicated to the Margin Staked SOL product. This campaign lets you earn up to 10 Lucky Draw tickets, each guaranteeing at least a 1 USDT airdrop, with a chance to win up to 100 USDT. In order to participate in the campaign, you must register for the event and complete a series of tasks as follows:

• Task 1 — Complete your first SOL staking and receive two Lucky Draw tickets

• Task 2 — Accumulate 500 SOL in Margin Staked SOL to receive two more tickets

• Task 3 — Accumulate 1,000 SOL in Margin Staked SOL to receive two more tickets

• Task 4 — Accumulate 3,000 SOL in Margin Staked SOL to receive four more tickets

Closing thoughts

Bybit’s Margin Staked SOL allows you to earn Solana staking rewards without the hassle of setting up and running a validator node — all via your account’s easy-to-use interface. The leverage option is also a great way to multiply your rewards. Moreover, the minimum investment is minuscule, especially compared to running a Solana validator, and there are two easy redemption options — and all of these benefits without needing to interact with the underlying Solana blockchain!

#LearnWithBybit