Lightspeed The Future of Staking On Solana | Michael Repetný
Oct 14, 2025
Michael Repetný, CEO of Marinade Labs and a pioneer in Solana staking infrastructure, shares insights on the evolution of staking in the crypto space. He dives into the origins of Marinade, detailing its hackathon beginnings and institutional focus. Michael compares liquid and native staking, highlighting their respective advantages. He also discusses the challenges of sandwich attacks and revenue dynamics surrounding staking. Additionally, he explores the potential of staking to function like savings accounts in the future, blending innovation with practicality.
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Hackathon Origins And Early Split
- Michael Repetný built Marinade from a hackathon team split and an $80k grant from Solana/Serum foundations.
- He merged with another hackathon project, paid no salaries initially, and bootstrapped the protocol forward.
Use Incubators To Bridge Gaps
- Join accelerators to close geographic and institutional gaps even if you're an established project.
- Use incubators to arrange meetings, get feedback, and accelerate institutional product development.
Institutions Put Security First
- Institutions prioritize compliance and security long before yield when choosing staking providers.
- Marinade pivoted from retail UX to institutional integrations, audits, and long sales cycles.