How Does BlazeStake Work?
BlazeStake is a Solana liquid staking protocol that lets you stake SOL and receive bSOL, a token that earns staking rewards while staying usable in DeFi. It spreads your stake across 200+ validators for security and is supported by the Solana Foundation. The protocol has been audited multiple times and uses the battle-tested SPL Stake Pool program. Its B grade reflects solid fundamentals with manageable risks around liquidity and governance.
TVL
$91M
Sector
Liquid Staking
Risk Grade
B
Value Grade
D+
Core Mechanisms
Staking/Liquid Staking/Reward-bearing LST
bSOL is a reward-bearing liquid staking token that increases in value relative to SOL each epoch as staking rewards compound
Standard reward-bearing LST design using Solana's SPL Stake Pool program. bSOL value accrues continuously through staking yield.
Staking/Delegation/Distributed Delegation
SOL staked via BlazeStake is distributed across 200+ validators with maximum 1% cap per validator, prioritizing 99%+ uptime and sub-10% commission
Distributed delegation model reduces single-validator risk. Dynamic stake adjustment based on total pool TVL with 99.95% deployed and 0.05% reserved for instant unstaking.
Governance/Gauge Voting/Stake Direction Gauge
NovelBLZE token holders use gauge mechanism to direct 10% of BlazeStake's total delegated stake to specific validators of their choosing
Gauge-based stake direction is a novel governance mechanism for LSTs on Solana. Introduces potential for stake concentration if gauges are manipulated by well-funded actors.
Liquidity/Instant Unstake/Reserve Pool
0.05% of pool TVL held in reserve for instant unstaking, enabling immediate SOL redemption without waiting for epoch boundaries
Reserve pool is small relative to total TVL. During mass unstaking events, reserve depletes quickly, forcing users to standard epoch-delayed unstaking.
Governance/Token/Governance Token
BLZE governance token with 10B max supply, enabling gauge voting and protocol governance decisions
Standard governance token model. Token has relatively small FDV, limiting governance attack cost but also reducing economic security of governance decisions.
How the Pieces Interact
bSOL is used as collateral across Solana DeFi. During market stress, forced liquidations sell bSOL into shallow DEX pools, causing depeg that triggers further liquidations in a reflexive spiral. With $86M TVL, even moderate sell pressure can overwhelm liquidity.
Gauge-directed 10% of stake could be concentrated in lower-quality or colluding validators if BLZE tokens are cheaply acquired. Validator bribery via gauge manipulation could reduce yield or introduce slashing risk.
The 0.05% instant unstake reserve (~$43K at current TVL) depletes almost immediately during any significant unstaking event, forcing users into epoch-delayed unstaking when speed matters most.
Monitoring 200+ validators for uptime, commission changes, and malicious behavior at scale creates detection lag. A validator could underperform or change commission before automatic rebalancing reacts.
What Could Go Wrong
- bSOL depeg risk during market stress — shallow DEX liquidity pools could amplify price dislocation during mass liquidation events
- BLZE gauge system allows token holders to direct 10% of stake to specific validators, potentially concentrating stake in lower-quality validators
- Validator set of 200+ nodes introduces monitoring complexity — underperforming or malicious validators could reduce staking yields before detection
bSOL Depeg During Solana Crash
ModerateTrigger: SOL price drops 30%+ in 24 hours while bSOL DEX pool depth is below $5M, triggering cascade liquidations of bSOL-collateralized positions
- 1.SOL crash triggers liquidation of bSOL-collateralized lending positions across Solana DeFi — Liquidation bots sell bSOL into shallow DEX pools
- 2.bSOL depegs 3-8% from SOL due to concentrated sell pressure — Additional lending positions breach LTV thresholds, triggering more liquidations
- 3.Instant unstake reserve ($43K) depletes within seconds — All remaining unstaking forced through epoch-delayed process, preventing arbitrage closure
- 4.bSOL depeg deepens as arbitrageurs cannot close gap due to unstaking delays — bSOL holders face 5-15% loss; collateral-dependent DeFi positions cascade
Risk Profile at a Glance
Overall: B (27/100)
Lower score = safer