Stake Auction Market (SAM)

Marinade distributes 100% of its TVL through the Stake Auction Marketplace, where validators compete by bidding to offer the highest yield to stakers.

Overview

Marinade's entire TVL is distributed through the Stake Auction Marketplace (SAM). Every epoch, eligible validators are ranked by the yield they offer to stakers, and stake is rebalanced to the highest-yielding validators subject to eligibility and decentralization constraints.

For SOL stakers, Marinade's delegation flows through SAM automatically. Validators bid each epoch to win delegated stake, and those bids translate directly into higher yield for stakers.

For validators looking to receive Marinade stake, this section covers how the auction works and what to set up to participate. New validators should start with the SAM Onboarding Guide. For tools, dashboards, repositories, and reference data, see SAM Resources.

A funded PSR (Protected Staking Rewards) bond is a prerequisite for SAM participation. The bond is separate from SAM itself and acts as collateral to protect staker yield. See Protected Staking Rewards.

How SAM Works

Validators are scored each epoch based on max_yield, the maximum yield they offer to stakers at a given stake level (e.g. 8% APY on 100k SOL). max_yield includes the validator's commission and any bid placed through SAM. In source code and the auction pipeline outputs, max_yield is referred to as totalPmpe.

Marinade ranks all eligible validators by max_yield and allocates stake top-down until all available stake is distributed.

SAM Lifecycle

The end-to-end flow from validator setup to settlement, in two phases.

One-time setup:

1. Validator funds the bond

2. Validator configures the bid (CPMPE and/or dynamic commission)

Recurring each epoch:

1. Auction runs against current bid configuration ↻

2. Stake allocated to top bidders by max_yield

3. Bond charged at settlement for the previous epoch's stake

4. Next epoch begins → returns to step 3

The bond is funded once but consulted every epoch. As long as the bid stays competitive and the bond stays funded, validators continue to receive stake and incur settlements without further action.

Bidding Methods

Validators share rewards with stakers through a static bid, a dynamic commission bid, or both combined. Both are configured through the validator bonds CLI without changing the public commission rate that applies to external stakers.

• Static bid (CPMPE, cost per 1,000 SOL of delegated stake per epoch): A fixed cost per 1,000 SOL delegated per epoch, paid from the validator's bond.

• Dynamic commission bid: A percentage of inflation, MEV (Maximal Extractable Value), or block rewards shared with stakers, set in basis points.

See Dynamic Bids for the full mechanics, common configurations, and CLI examples.

Last Price Auction

SAM uses a last-price auction model. After ranking validators by max_yield, the realized_yield for the epoch is set to the max_yield of the last validator to receive stake (the lowest yield on the winning list). Validators with max_yield above realized_yield are not charged their full bid; they are charged only enough to deliver the realized yield to stakers.

The two bidding methods are charged independently:

• Static bids (CPMPE): Charged from the bond based on the realized yield and the amount of delegated stake. The full CPMPE is only charged when the validator is at the bottom of the winning list.

• Dynamic commission bids: Charged separately from the bond, based on the actual rewards earned by the validator that epoch and the configured commission split. Marinade uses the lower value (more favorable to stakers) between the on-chain commission and the configured bond commission.

This dual mechanism prevents overpayment on static bids and supports transparent reward sharing through dynamic commissions.

Example: max_yield vs. realized_yield

Validator ID	max_yield (APY)	stake_received (SOL)	realized_yield (APY)
1	10.6%	95 000	8.12%
2	9.58%	200 000*	8.12%
3	9.4%	80 000	8.12%
…	…	…	…
166	8.12%	15 000**	8.12%
167	8.12%	15 000**	8.12%
168	8.10%	0	0%

Marinade distributes stake to 168 validators. Validator 1 (with max_yield 10.6%) does not pay their full bid: their bond is only charged enough to deliver 8.12% to stakers. The same applies to every validator above the floor. Validator 167, sitting exactly at 8.12%, pays their full bid since they are at the floor. Validator 168 falls below the realized yield and receives no stake.

The takeaway: validators can set their true max_yield without overpaying. The auction charges only what is needed to clear the floor.

Penalties at a Glance

Three mechanisms can charge a validator's bond beyond the regular auction bid. Each addresses a different situation. They are independent and can apply in the same epoch.

Mechanism	Trigger	Charge	How to Avoid
Bid Reduction Penalty	Validator lowers bidPmpe below the previous 3 epochs' effective bid	Bond is charged to make up the yield gap on existing stake	Withdraw the bond to exit cleanly, then rejoin with a lower bid. Do not lower bidPmpe directly
Activating Stake Fee	New stake activates on the validator after a winning auction	Bond is charged on activating stake, scaled by overbid above clearing rate	Set maxStakeWanted to control incoming stake before bidding
Bond Risk Reduction Mechanism	Bond covers fewer than 5 epochs of obligations on existing stake	Stake is partially undelegated and a fee is charged from the bond	Maintain bond coverage at or above the 13-epoch target

Two other actions can affect stake but are not fee-based: validators may lose eligibility (see Eligibility Criteria) or be blacklisted (see Blacklist Policy). Both result in stake being redelegated without charging the bond.

Explore the SAM Documentation

• SAM Onboarding Guide: Step-by-step setup for new validators: install CLI, create bond, fund it, configure bid, and verify.

• Eligibility Criteria: Requirements to receive stake from Marinade, and how to exit SAM cleanly.

• Stake Distribution and Decentralization Constraints: How stake is allocated, unstaking priority, and network safety limits.

• Blacklist Policy: Grounds for blacklisting and removal process.

• Dynamic Bids: How dynamic commission bids work and how to configure them in the validator bonds CLI.

• maxStakeWanted Parameter: Cap the amount of Marinade stake a validator wants to receive.

• Stake Matching: Up to 30% matched stake for validators attracting external delegation.

• Bonds Settlements: How and when bids are settled each epoch.

• Bid Reduction Penalty: Penalty mechanics that protect against bid manipulation.

• Activating Stake Fee: One-time fee charged when new stake activates, scaled by how far above clearing the validator bid.

• Bond Risk Reduction Mechanism: Covers the cost of redelegating stake when a validator's bond is underfunded relative to their allocation.

• Bond Notifications: How validators are notified of bond-related events and changes.

• SAM Resources: Dashboards, repositories, APIs, and technical reference for SAM participants.

The SAM per-validator cap is 15% of Marinade's TVL, live as of epoch 946 (MIP-19).

Operational Notes

A few facts worth knowing as a SAM participant.

• Scoring cadence: The delegation strategy scoring runs once per epoch. At the end of each epoch, Marinade's bot performs actions to move stake distribution toward the desired state.

• SFDP self-stake credit: A validator's PSR bond counts toward the self-stake requirement of the Solana Foundation Delegation Program. Any SOL deposited in the bond counts toward total self-stake.

• Data sources: Marinade uses on-chain Solana data for all validator metrics, plus ipwhois for geolocation and data center identification.