Key concepts

Solana staking involves delegating SOL tokens to a validator, like Figment, which operates nodes that help secure the network. Rewards are earned based on the validator's performance and the amount of SOL staked. Key points:

Stake account: A new stake account every time you want to stake more, thus there is a one-many relationship between your main wallet and stake accounts. When staking, SOL is moved from your main wallet to this new stake account. When unstaking, SOL is moved from a stake account back into your mainnet wallet. Both are logically and technically in your custody within the entire staking lifecycle (Read more in What's Next)
Delegation: When delegated to a validator, funds remain in the stake account and earn rewards by pointing to the validator
Stake account lifecycle: Stake accounts have various states: inactive , activating , active or deactivating
Rewards: Rewards accrue every epoch (~2 days) proportionally based on active stake. 2 types:
- Inflation: Contains new SOL issuance. Earned when a validator votes on blocks created by other validators. Accrues to stake account active_balance thus automatically delegated
- MEV: Contains tips from MEV searchers hoping to have their transactions included in the block. Earned when a validator is selected to propose a block as the “leader” (Solana creates ~216,000 blocks/day). Accrues to stake account inactive_balance thus not automatically delegated

Stake account lifecycle

Status	Description	Action Needed
`inactive` (before staking)	Stake account created but not delegated to Figment, thus no rewards	Delegate to Figment's validator
`activating`	Stake account will be activated at the next epoch boundary, and earn rewards the epoch after that	⌛ - a few mins to ~2 days
`active`	Accrue inflation and MEV rewards every epoch in the stake account balance	Optional: Periodically withdraw MEV rewards using Jito UI or POST /withdraw
`deactivating`	You've broadcasted your signed undelegation transaction and continue earning rewards until the end of the epoch	⌛ - a few mins to ~2 days
`inactive` (after staking)	Funds are withdrawable in the epoch following deactivation	Withdraw rewards and principal from stake account

Extra credit: delegate MEV rewards

MEV rewards accrue to your stake account's inactive balance and don't auto-compound like inflation rewards. To earn on them, Solana requires you to manually activate them by signing a transaction from your delegating wallet:

Withdraw your MEV rewards on an active stake account with POST /withdraw. Omitting amount_sol withdraws all of your MEV rewards and keeps your existing stake active
Delegate your withdrawn SOL with POST /stake
Earn rewards next epoch!