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:

Delegation: SOL is staked within a stake account, which is a sub-account of your main wallet (aka system account). A new stake account is created every time you delegate. Then they are delegated to a 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