Liquid Restaking · Review
ActivePico Staked SOL Review 2026: picoSOL on a Japan Validator
Pico Staked SOL is picoSOL, a Sanctum-issued liquid staking token tied to a Japan-run Solana validator operating since 2022. It suits Solana stakers who want a small, specialised validator, but audits and team details are not published.
By the DappsAtlas editorial team · Updated
DappsAtlas score
6.8/10
Good
Our verdict on Pico Staked SOL
6.8/10Pico Staked SOL suits Solana holders who want to delegate to a small, specialised validator or hold a liquid staking token backed by it. Its main strengths are a simple staking flow, a validator track record since 2022 and Jito BAM block building. The main caveats are that picoSOL is run by Sanctum, no audits are listed, the exact commission is not stated in text, and the homepage says it is not offered to Japanese residents. Check the live commission and your local rules first.
Score breakdown
How Pico Staked SOL scores
- Security
- 6.5/10
- Ease of use
- 8.0/10
- Fees
- 5.5/10
- Features
- 6.5/10
Scores run from 0 to 10 and are based only on facts we could verify. Where information was missing we mark the score n/a rather than guess.
What is Pico Staked SOL?
Pico Staked SOL is the DeFi listing for picoSOL, a liquid staking token on Solana. It is tied to the pico.sol validator, which says it has operated from Japan since 2022. The token was issued through Sanctum in March 2024.
The homepage shows about 76,808 SOL of delegated stake and a picoSOL APY of 4.62%. Tracked TVL is roughly 1.75 million USD, and it has been listed since February 2025. No native token is listed.
The team traces its background to a Rust-based arbitrage bot built in May 2022, followed by a testnet validator in September 2022 and a mainnet validator in February 2024. It focuses only on Solana. The site also publishes a short security policy and a blog.
How Pico Staked SOL works
Solana staking means delegating SOL to a validator, which helps process blocks and earns rewards. With native staking on this site you delegate from your own wallet. The validator cannot move your SOL, and rewards accrue every epoch of roughly two days.
picoSOL works differently. It is a liquid staking token issued by Sanctum that represents staked SOL plus accumulated rewards, with stake delegated to the pico.sol validator. You hold a token instead of a stake account, so you can trade it or use it in DeFi while it keeps earning yield.
The validator also runs Jito BAM, a block-building stack that orders transactions inside a trusted execution environment. The validator says this blocks unfair MEV such as sandwich attacks while stakers still earn MEV rewards.
6 features
Key features
01
Native staking
Delegate SOL from Phantom, Solflare or Backpack to the pico.sol validator. The SOL stays in your own wallet's name.
02
picoSOL liquid token
A Sanctum-issued liquid staking token that earns staking yield and can be traded at any time. It is used across various DeFi platforms, according to the homepage.
03
Jito BAM block building
The validator runs Jito's Block Assembly Marketplace, which orders transactions inside a trusted execution environment. The aim is to shut out sandwich attacks and pass MEV rewards to stakers.
04
Reward simulator
The site includes a simulator that estimates monthly and yearly rewards from a stake amount, based on recent actual APY.
05
LST ranking dashboard
The homepage mentions an LST ranking updated every epoch, and a dashboard-style description appears in the DeFi data listing.
06
Operational security practices
The team lists restricted open ports, changed port numbers, limited password authentication, strict key management, 24/7 monitoring and a hot spare server for upgrades without downtime.
Pros and cons
What we like
- Clear Solana-only focus with a validator track record dating to 2022
- Native staking keeps SOL in your own wallet's name
- picoSOL can be traded at any time, avoiding the wait for an epoch
- Runs Jito BAM, which aims to block sandwich-style MEV
- Published server security practices and a hot spare setup
- Simple three-step staking flow with a reward simulator
Watch out for
- picoSOL is issued and managed by Sanctum, so users carry extra smart-contract risk from the LST layer on top of the validator
- No third-party audits are listed for the project
- The homepage says there is no offering of picoSOL to residents of Japan, which limits who it targets
- Delegated stake is small (about 76,808 SOL), so the validator has limited scale
- Native unstaking takes until the next epoch boundary, up to about two days
- Team members are not named and no legal entity details are given on the homepage
Pico Staked SOL fees
Fees are not published as a fixed figure in the text available. The homepage says the validator commission is shown in the live stats on the site and is deducted from staking rewards, with no extra payment required.
Priority fee settings (none, 0.0001, 0.001 or 0.01 SOL) are offered in the site's settings for transactions. Any Sanctum fees on picoSOL are not detailed on the homepage, so check the Sanctum interface before swapping or unstaking.
Is Pico Staked SOL safe?
The validator says it only receives delegation and cannot access staked SOL, and that Solana has no slashing. For native staking, the main risks are validator performance and changing reward rates. For picoSOL, smart-contract risk and the token's market price also apply, since Sanctum issues and manages it, not the validator.
No audits are listed for the project in the data reviewed. One risk-scoring site reportedly gives it a B grade and a score of 29 out of 100, slightly better than the liquid staking average. The homepage disclaimer says it is not investment advice and warns of smart-contract vulnerabilities and network outages. It also says picoSOL is not offered to residents of Japan.
6 steps
How to get started with Pico Staked SOL
- 1
Install a Solana wallet such as Phantom or Solflare and fund it with SOL from an exchange.
- 2
Open the official site and connect your wallet.
- 3
Choose native staking to delegate to the pico.sol validator, or get picoSOL for a liquid position.
- 4
Confirm the transaction and check the priority fee and RPC settings if needed.
- 5
Wait for rewards, which accrue automatically each epoch of about two days.
- 6
Unstake natively at the next epoch boundary, or trade picoSOL if you need funds sooner.
Who Pico Staked SOL is for
This is for Solana holders comfortable with wallets who want either native delegation or a liquid staking token. It suits people who prefer to support smaller validators and care about MEV protection. It is less suited to anyone who needs audited contracts, deep liquidity or a large validator.
Pico Staked SOL FAQs
What is picoSOL?
picoSOL is a liquid staking token on Solana tied to the pico.sol validator. It is issued and managed by Sanctum, and it represents staked SOL plus the staking rewards. The homepage describes it as tradable at any time.
What yield does picoSOL pay?
The homepage shows a picoSOL APY of 4.62% and a reward simulator that uses recent actual APY. It states that future rewards are not guaranteed, and the rate changes with network conditions.
Can I lose my SOL by staking with pico.sol?
The validator says it only receives delegation and cannot access the SOL in your stake account, and that Solana has no slashing. Even so, picoSOL adds smart-contract and network-outage risks, and the market price of the token can move.
How fast can I unstake?
Native unstaking takes effect at the next epoch boundary, which is up to about two days. If you may need funds sooner, the homepage suggests holding picoSOL, which can be traded at any time.
What commission does the validator charge?
The homepage says the commission is shown in the live stats on the page and is deducted from staking rewards. No separate payment is required. The exact percentage is not stated in the text available here.
Is picoSOL available everywhere?
The homepage says picoSOL is not offered or solicited to residents of Japan. Anyone should check local rules before using it, and the page states it is not investment advice.
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How we checked
Sources
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