# Direct Staking

### 🔍 Overview

The Vault on Solana is a stake pool that allows users to stake their SOL in a decentralized and transparent manner. Users have the ability to delegate their stake to a list of whitelisted validators through a process called Direct Staking. This document explains how direct staking works and its impact on the pool.

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### 🔗 How Direct Staking Works

#### 📌 Step-by-Step Process

1. Directing Stake to a Validator:
   1. The user then goes to [The Vault dApp](https://thevault.finance/direct-stake) and directs their wallet to a specific validator from the whitelist. In this example, Validator X.
   2. All vSOL that resides in the wallet which has been direct staked to Validator X will be used.
   3. The stake bot ensures that specific validator will receive the amount of vSOL that was directed to it.
2. Leveraged Staking and APY:

   1. When users deposit vSOL into Kamino Multiply, they borrow SOL to multiply their staking position.
   2. This functions similarly to manual leverage where users:
      1. Deposit SOL → Get vSOL → Borrow SOL → Deposit Borrowed SOL → Get More vSOL → Repeat.
   3. This results in a higher APY for the user, as their exposure to staking rewards increases.
   4. The user will be able to see the Kamino amounts on their [direct stake dashboard](https://thevault.finance/direct-stake) once they connect their wallet. There may be a delay in between updates for this data.

### 📊 Impact of Direct Staking

* Increased Validator Weighting:
  * Large direct stake deposits (leveraged or not) will shift the percentage of total TVL assigned to a validator.
  * However, all validators still receive the same base amounts from the direct stake leader and elite performance programs.
* Transparency & On-Chain Data:
  * The Vault maintains full transparency regarding validator stakes.
  * Users can track stake distribution via:
    * [Validator Metrics Page](https://thevault.finance/validators)
    * Public Repositories:
      * [Stakebot Data](https://github.com/SolanaVault/stakebot-data)
      * [Holdings Data](https://github.com/SolanaVault/holdings-data)

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### 🏁 Conclusion

Direct Staking in The Vault provides users with enhanced control over their stake while maintaining a fair and transparent distribution model. Through leveraged staking via Kamino Multiply, users can maximize APY, and all staking activity remains fully on-chain and auditable.


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