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For the complete documentation index, see llms.txt. This page is also available as Markdown.

Multisig governance

Marinade's on-chain authority is not a single multisig. It is split across four layers, and each layer authorizes different actions on different programs. Knowing which layer controls what is the poin

Quick Reference

Layer
Body
Threshold
What It Authorizes

1

Ecosystem multisig

6 of 13

Upgrade authority for the main mSOL liquid staking program, and nothing else

2

MNDE Realm (the DAO)

MNDE-locked vote, 2% quorum

Upgrade authority and admin parameters for Native, Select, Validator Bonds, Recipes, gauges, referrals and the rest of the contract surface

3

Marinade Council

3 of 5

Day-to-day operations: protocol fee adjustments within DAO-set bounds, contract parameters, gauges, Foundation operations

4

Emergency Pause Council

3 of 5

Pause authority on the mSOL program and Validator Bonds. It can pause, it cannot upgrade

What Is a Multisig?

A multisig is a wallet whose authority is shared across multiple independent keyholders. One signature is not enough: a threshold number of holders, on different keys and often on different continents, must each sign before a decision executes.

This distributes governance power among multiple wallet holders so that no single party, Marinade included, can change a program on their own.

Layer 1: Ecosystem Multisig (6 of 13)

This multisig is the upgrade authority for the main mSOL liquid staking program only. It does not control Marinade Native, Marinade Select, Validator Bonds, Recipes, gauges or referrals, it cannot pause the protocol, and it cannot move treasury funds.

It is composed of 13 signing slots, distributed among some of the most reputable parties in the Solana ecosystem:

6 of 13 signatures are required to upgrade the program. The majority of signers are external, so Marinade alone cannot reach the threshold. The multisig runs on a frozen, non-upgradeable Serum multisig program.

The threshold is readable on chain and does not have to be taken on trust. The multisig account magrsHFQxkkioAy45VWnZnFBBdKVdy2ZiRoRGYT9Wed holds 13 owner slots and a threshold of 6, and its program-derived signer, 551FBXSXdhcRDDkdcb3ThDRg84Mwe5Zs6YjJ1EEoyzBp, is exactly the upgrade authority recorded against the mSOL program. See the address table below.

The multisig was 6 of 11 at mainnet launch in August 2021 and after the November 2022 signer rotation. It was later expanded to 6 of 13. If you find the 6-of-11 figure in older Marinade writing, it is a historical state, not the current one.

Layer 2: MNDE Realm, the DAO

Everything that is not the mSOL program sits under MNDE-locked DAO governance, run on SPL Governance through Realms with the Voter Stake Registry plugin. This is a live governance system, not a future plan.

Contracts under MNDE Realm authority include the Marinade Native staking proxy, the Marinade Select institutional proxy, Validator Bonds, Recipes, Tokadapt, validator and liquidity gauges, the liquid staking referral program, directed stake, the Incentives Distribution Program, the Voter Stake Registry and the Atomic Swap contract.

Quorum: 2% of MNDE supply.

The DAO also owns the protocol treasury. Treasury spend and revenue allocation are DAO votes, executed by the Council. The protocol treasury is distinct from Marinade Labs' operational treasury and the two should never be conflated.

Layer 3: Marinade Council (3 of 5)

The Council holds operational authority: the day-to-day management that does not warrant a full DAO vote. It is composed of 5 internal Marinade roles and operates through Realms, with proposals publicly visible.

The Council can adjust protocol fees within DAO-set bounds, execute DAO-authorized budget, tune parameters on the secondary contracts where the DAO has delegated parameter control, set delegation strategy parameters, and add or remove liquidity incentive gauges. Validator gauges remain permissionless on Realms.

The Council cannot upgrade contracts, and it cannot commit beyond the DAO-authorized budget without a vote.

Older documentation described a "Treasury multisig" at 4 of 7 and a separate "Operational multisig" of 5. Both have been superseded by the Marinade Council at 3 of 5.

Layer 4: Emergency Pause Council (3 of 5)

The same five people as the Marinade Council, acting under a different authority: pause only, on the mSOL program and the Validator Bonds program. It is used for an active exploit, critical validator misbehaviour, or a network-level event needing a protocol-level response.

It cannot upgrade or modify anything. Resuming a paused program is a separate authorization.

Addresses

Role
Address

Ecosystem multisig account (13 signer slots, threshold 6)

magrsHFQxkkioAy45VWnZnFBBdKVdy2ZiRoRGYT9Wed

Ecosystem multisig signer, the mSOL program's on-chain upgrade authority

551FBXSXdhcRDDkdcb3ThDRg84Mwe5Zs6YjJ1EEoyzBp

Serum multisig program the above runs on

msigmtwzgXJHj2ext4XJjCDmpbcMuufFb5cHuwg6Xdt

mSOL liquid staking program

MarBmsSgKXdrN1egZf5sqe1TMai9K1rChYNDJgjq7aD

mSOL State account

8szGkuLTAux9XMgZ2vtY39jVSowEcpBfFfD8hXSEqdGC

MNDE Realm (DAO)

899YG3yk4F66ZgbNWLHriZHTXSKk9e1kvsKEquW7L6Mo

Emergency pause authority

AjGjLWx7vbzgPNxPSQUPjLNjeavQCHVS9VoJNWpnyP6n

Marinade Native staking proxy

mnspJQyF1KdDEs5c6YJPocYdY1esBgVQFufM2dY9oDk

Validator Bonds program

vBoNdEvzMrSai7is21XgVYik65mqtaKXuSdMBJ1xkW4

The Native proxy and Validator Bonds are upgraded by a different authority from the mSOL program, which is the layer separation described above, visible on chain.

Operational Parameters

The Council can change the operational parameters of the protocol and of the mSOL-SOL liquidity pool. These include:

  • liquidity-target and liquidity-sol-cap for the mSOL-SOL liquidity pool

  • min-fee and max-fee, the bounds of the Instant Unstake fee curve

  • min-deposit, the minimum SOL amount that can be staked

  • min-stake, the minimum SOL amount for stake and unstake actions executed by the bot and for depositing a stake account

  • min-withdraw, the minimum SOL amount that can be withdrawn

  • slots-for-stake-delta, the number of slots before the end of the epoch at which the bot starts to stake and unstake

  • staking-sol-cap, the maximum SOL amount that can be staked in the protocol

  • rewards-fee, the protocol fee on staking rewards

These values change. This page deliberately does not print them, because a printed value goes stale the moment the Council adjusts it. The authoritative source is the on-chain State account 8szGkuLTAux9XMgZ2vtY39jVSowEcpBfFfD8hXSEqdGC, readable with any Solana RPC client or block explorer.

Two points worth knowing as of this writing, both read from the State account on 18 September 2026: the staking SOL cap is unset, so there is no maximum stakeable amount, and the protocol rewards-fee is 0. The program caps rewards-fee at 10%, so it can never be set above that.

For what Instant Unstake actually costs you today, see the Instant Unstake page rather than the parameter names above.

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