Why 1 LST Doesn’t Always Equal 1 SOL

Sanctum LSTs (including INF) are reward-bearing tokens.

If you’ve recently staked your SOL and received one of Sanctum's LSTs (including INF) in return, you might be wondering: “Why didn't I receive 1 LST for every SOL I staked?” It’s a common question—and a great one. Let’s break it down.

• When you stake SOL with a liquid staking pool, you get an LST—a liquid staking token that keeps earning staking, block, and MEV rewards while sitting in your wallet. You can even use it in DeFi while it grows in value.

• Unlike some other blockchains, your LST's balance doesn’t increase over time. On Solana, LSTs like INF are fixed in quantity—but their value grows, relative to SOL.

• As validators that you stake to earn rewards, these rewards are distributed back to the stake pool. Instead of minting more LSTs, each LST represents a portion of the growing pool of SOL.

• Over time, as staking rewards compound, LSTs gain value relative to SOL. So when you unstake, you’ll receive more SOL than you originally put in.