# Staking Guide (Phase-1)

A step-by-step guide to staking SOL on Toby, earning genSOL, and starting to accumulate staking yield, MEV rewards, and Pearls.

## What You Need

* **A Solana wallet** (Phantom, Solflare, or any compatible wallet)
* **SOL to stake:** the amount you want to deposit
* **A small amount of SOL for gas fees.** Transaction costs on Solana are minimal but not zero.

## How to Stake

1. Visit the Toby staking page at [app.toby.so](https://app.toby.so)
2. Connect your Solana wallet on mainnet
3. Open the **Stake** tab and enter the amount of SOL to deposit
4. Click **Stake** and confirm the transaction in your wallet
5. Receive **genSOL** (1:1 ratio) in your wallet once the transaction finalizes
6. Start earning staking yield + MEV rewards automatically. No further action needed.

Minting is immediate as long as the current tranche cap hasn't been reached. Zero deposit fees.

## What You Earn

Staking SOL on Toby gives you three streams of value:

* **Staking yield:** Standard Solana staking rewards, accrued automatically while you hold genSOL.
* **MEV rewards:** Your share of OpenMEV revenue generated through Toby's Validator Optimizer.
* **Pearls:** Daily reward points that unlock priority allocation in the $TOBY public sale and future benefits ([learn more](https://learn.toby.foundation/toby-token/pearls)).

All three start accruing the moment you hold genSOL. No claiming or compounding required.

## Tranche System

genSOL supply is managed through capped tranches to control growth:

* The first tranche starts at **10,000 genSOL**
* Once a tranche fills, there's a short cooldown for snapshot and refill
* Multiple tranches will open over time, but **early tranches carry the greatest benefits** (higher Pearl rates, Black Pearl eligibility)
* If the current tranche is full, wait for the next one to open

You can hold genSOL for rewards, or deploy it across DeFi platforms integrated with Toby.

## How to Unstake

Open the **Unstake** tab and choose your method:

| Method                     | Speed        | Fee         | Best For                      |
| -------------------------- | ------------ | ----------- | ----------------------------- |
| **Instant** (Sanctum swap) | Immediate    | Market rate | Need SOL now                  |
| **Delayed** (Unbond)       | End of epoch | 0.1%        | No urgency, zero price impact |

**Instant Unstake:** Get SOL back immediately at the current pool quote. One transaction, no swap steps. Review the net amount, approve, and SOL returns to your wallet.

**Delayed Unstake:** Start an unbond and claim at the next epoch boundary. The 0.1% fee is included in the quote upfront. Choose this when you're comfortable waiting through the unbond cycle to avoid any price impact.

## What's Next

genSOL is Toby's Phase-1 staked token. When **tSOL** (Toby's native LST) launches in Phase-2, the app will offer a one-click migration path. For now, mint, hold, and use [genSOL](https://learn.toby.foundation/products-and-infrastructure/gensol). Stack your [Pearls](https://learn.toby.foundation/toby-token/pearls) while the rates are highest.

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**Related:**

* [genSOL](https://learn.toby.foundation/products-and-infrastructure/gensol)
* [Pearls](https://learn.toby.foundation/toby-token/pearls)