Solana Staking Gets a New Yield Source as Raiku Launches rkuSOL

Liquid staking on Solana has largely followed the same formula for years: stake SOL, earn validator rewards, capture some MEV, and use the resulting liquid staking token across DeFi.

Raiku believes that model is about to expand.

The Solana infrastructure startup has officially launched rkuSOL, a new liquid staking token built alongside Sanctum, Kamino, Loopscale, and Exponent that introduces an entirely new source of validator revenue: selling blockspace through Raiku's auction marketplace.

The launch creates what Raiku describes as Solana's first liquid staking token tied not only to staking rewards and MEV, but also to coordination-auction revenue generated by validators.

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A New Revenue Stream for Validators

Traditionally, validators earn revenue by producing blocks and processing transactions. Raiku's infrastructure introduces another market entirely.

Validators participating in rkuSOL can sell access to blockspace through Raiku's Ahead-of-Time (AOT) and Just-in-Time (JIT) auctions. Developers, traders, and institutions bid for guaranteed transaction inclusion, with the resulting auction proceeds flowing back to validators and ultimately to stakers.

"For forty years, TradFi venues have earned from a stack of revenue lines," said Robin Nordnes, founder and CEO of Raiku.

"Solana validators have only ever sold one, block production. With rkuSOL the validators behind it start selling a second: blockspace through Raiku's auctions, priced contractually before the trade happens. That revenue flows back to stakers. It's the first expansion of the Solana LST yield base since MEV arrived."

The result is a staking product whose yield is partially tied to demand for Solana blockspace itself rather than relying exclusively on staking rewards.

Why DeFi Protocols Are Paying Attention

One of the biggest challenges facing liquid staking tokens today is differentiation.

Most LSTs generate relatively similar returns because they draw from the same underlying staking and MEV opportunities. That can make it difficult for traders and DeFi users to express views on network activity through staking assets alone.

Luke Truitt, Co-Founder and CEO of Loopscale, believes rkuSOL introduces a new variable into the equation.

"Most Solana LSTs price yield against staking and MEV, both of which swing with market activity and are non-differentiated," said Truitt.

"This makes it difficult to speculate on and build SOL lending markets purely on LST leverage. The validators behind rkuSOL earn additional yield through blockspace sold in Raiku's auctions, giving loopers an opportunity to speculate on demand in excess of the native staking rate."

In other words, holders are not just betting on staking rewards—they're also gaining exposure to demand for transaction execution on Solana.

Launching Across Solana DeFi From Day One

Rather than launching as a standalone staking product, rkuSOL enters the market with support from several of Solana's largest DeFi platforms.

Sanctum provides the underlying liquid staking infrastructure and instant liquidity through its Infinity liquidity pool.

"We're very happy to partner with Raiku to launch rkuSOL," said FP Lee, Co-Founder and CEO of Sanctum.

"rkuSOL is a first-class citizen of Sanctum's unified infrastructure; holders automatically earn autocompounding yields and can access instant liquidity via Sanctum. The relationships we have forged with partners in the space also allows rkuSOL to be integrated and used throughout the Solana ecosystem from day one."

The asset is also live as collateral on Kamino, available across Loopscale's lending markets, and supported by Exponent's yield trading infrastructure.

Mark Hull, a core contributor at Kamino, said the protocol views rkuSOL as a new category of collateral entering the ecosystem.

"We're excited to integrate rkuSOL into Kamino, continuing to expand the range of collateral available on Solana. rkuSOL introduces additional validator revenue through Raiku's blockspace auctions, bringing a unique LST to the ecosystem."

For Exponent, the launch introduces additional opportunities for yield management and portfolio construction.

"It is great to have a differentiated Solana LST that brings a new source of yield to Solana staking," said Exponent Co-Founder Thomas Lefort.

"This makes rkuSOL a strong asset to add to a DeFi portfolio, while holders can use Exponent to tailor their exposure depending on their goals, whether they want to fix its rate or leverage it."

Accessible via Phantom and Jupiter From Day One

Both Phantom and Jupiter support rkuSOL from day one, giving users access through two of Solana's largest consumer-facing applications without requiring new wallets or additional tooling.

The token itself functions similarly to existing liquid staking products. Users deposit SOL with Raiku-integrated validators and receive rkuSOL in return. The token's exchange rate increases over time as yield accumulates within the underlying staking pool.

According to Raiku, both the stake pool architecture and Sanctum's LST infrastructure use existing Solana primitives and have undergone multiple audits.

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Betting on the Value of Blockspace

As Solana's ecosystem continues to mature, blockspace itself is increasingly becoming a scarce and valuable resource.

High-frequency traders, institutions, market makers, and application developers are all competing for faster and more predictable transaction execution. Raiku's thesis is that this demand can become a monetizable asset class for validators and stakers.

With six external validator partners already committed and additional integrations planned throughout 2026, rkuSOL represents an early attempt to transform blockspace demand into a new yield layer for Solana users.

If successful, it could mark the beginning of a broader shift in how staking rewards are generated—moving beyond traditional validator economics and toward a future where access to blockchain infrastructure becomes a revenue stream in its own right.

Raiku has raised $13.5 million from investors including Pantera Capital, Jump Crypto, Lightspeed Faction, and HashKey.