Key Takeaways: STKESOL Launch – Liquid Staking & Solana DeFi with Loopscale

Yesterday, SOL Strategies marked the launch of its liquid staking token, STKESOL, alongside an in-depth discussion led by Interim CEO Michael Hubbard and CTO Max Kaplan with special guest, Loopscale Co-Founder Mary Gooneratne. The conversation explored liquid staking, DeFi lending, and the growing importance of yield-bearing assets in Solana’s financial infrastructure, positioning LSTs as a foundational building block for on-chain capital markets.

Strengthening Solana Through Liquid Staking

The conversation opened with the motivation behind launching STKESOL. Michael explained that the objective was to support the health of the Solana network by strengthening its validator set. At launch, STKESOL had over 540,000 SOL delegated across 75 validators, contributing to decentralization and network security.

Max reinforced this network-first design:

“We launched STKESOL for the betterment of the Solana network. A strong validator set is what’s best for Solana, and that’s what we’re all about.”

By distributing stake broadly rather than concentrating it among a small group of operators, liquid staking plays a role in maintaining Solana’s resilience as the network grows in usage and complexity.

Why LSTs Are Tax and Capital Efficient

Michael outlined how liquid staking tokens operate and why they have become a core Solana primitive. Instead of receiving incremental staking rewards each epoch, LST holders experience appreciation in the token’s value as rewards accrue to the underlying stake.

This structure can offer tax efficiency, depending on jurisdiction. As Michael noted:

“With an LST, you can have one token, 10 tokens, or 100 tokens, but the number doesn’t change; the value changes. So you have a capital gain of entry or short term capital gain depending on how long you hold it, so there is tax efficiency with LSTs. That’s a big use case.”

Beyond taxation, LSTs enable capital efficiency by allowing users to borrow against staked SOL. This structure provides access to liquidity without requiring the sale of the underlying asset, preserving long-term exposure while unlocking utility.

LSTs as a Core DeFi Collateral Asset

Mary shared that LSTs represent one of the fastest growing asset classes on Loopscale. Their predictable yield profile, grounding in Solana’s staking system, and liquidity characteristics make them well suited for borrowing and lending use cases.

A common application involves leveraging yield rather than price. Through looping products, users amplify staking returns by borrowing against LST collateral in a streamlined, one-click experience, while maintaining manageable risk due to the close correlation between SOL and its liquid staking derivatives.

From Speculation to Yield and Fixed Income

Mary pointed to a broader shift within crypto markets:

“There’s more of a focus on yield-bearing instruments and fixed income products as opposed to purely price speculation, which is a really cool sign of the maturing of crypto and DeFi.”

On Loopscale, this shift has corresponded with increased demand for fixed-rate borrowing, structured products, and yield-focused strategies that remain relevant across varying market conditions.

Lending as DeFi’s Bridge Into Traditional Finance

Mary also discussed lending as a key area of differentiation for DeFi relative to traditional finance:

“A lot of the product differentiation that is yet to exist and can actually create that first wedge into traditional finance, is largely in the lending sector.”

She explained that many inefficiencies in traditional credit markets stem from operational constraints. As she described:

“If you think about things that make credit issuance high friction in TradFi, such as collateral management and servicing that drive up the cost of credit and limit issuance, they are solved very well by having a composable open ledger with programmable assets.”

The Road Ahead for Solana DeFi

The discussion concluded by summarizing the key themes explored throughout the conversation. The combination of liquid staking, DeFi lending, and yield-bearing assets illustrates how Solana’s financial layer functions beyond speculative activity, emphasizing infrastructure, capital efficiency, and network fundamentals.

Together, STKESOL and platforms like Loopscale demonstrate how Solana supports a full-stack on-chain financial system built on strong network fundamentals and increasingly sophisticated capital markets.

 

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