Marinade Finance Achieves SOC 2 Type 2 Compliance, Boosts Solana ETF Prospects

Solana's latest price was $185.95, up 1.774% in the last 24 hours. Marinade Finance, a prominent Solana staking protocol, has achieved SOC 2 Type 2 compliance after undergoing rigorous auditing, making it one of the first in the staking ecosystem to meet this gold-standard security certification. This milestone not only validates Marinade's operational excellence and institutional readiness but also paves the way for it to serve as the exclusive staking provider for upcoming U.S. Solana exchange-traded funds. The SOC 2 Type 2 certification is a cybersecurity compliance standard developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, which evaluates an organization's operational effectiveness around security controls over an extended period. Marinade Finance achieved Type I compliance earlier this year, and the SOC 2 Type 2 audit focused on the protocol's security controls, access management systems, staking infrastructure, validator operations, data confidentiality, and privacy protections. This certification is significant as it demonstrates that blockchain protocols can meet the highest institutional security standards without compromising on decentralization. Marinade's chief compliance officer, Hadley Stern, emphasized that achieving SOC 2 Type 2 as a liquid staking protocol required demonstrating operational excellence across a much more complex infrastructure than centralized platforms. This certification positions Marinade as a potentially great platform for institutional clients, with a focus on operational security and compliance readiness. It is also beneficial for various organizational milestones, including institutional partnerships and regulatory approval processes. Marinade aims to become the main staking platform for the highly anticipated spot Solana exchange-traded funds, with several applications before the SEC and experts noting high chances of approval in the coming months. Firms that have picked Marinade for staking solutions include Zodia Custody, BitGo, and Canary Capital.

Solana is advancing its long-term vision for dominating decentralized capital markets. Anza, a core contributor to the ecosystem, introduced key infrastructure concepts aimed at empowering developers. These include Market Microstructure and Application-Controlled Execution (ACE), which are designed to give builders precise control over how transactions execute. These tools reduce friction and improve execution quality, allowing developers to prioritize efficiency, pricing, and reliability. According to ecosystem reports, the upgrades eliminate the need to choose between Solana’s scalability and app-specific control. This new balance supports advanced use cases like derivatives platforms and smoother perpetuals trading. Analysts suggest that such upgrades may position Solana as a leading choice for high-performance DeFi infrastructure. Solana has lifted its per-block compute unit limit from 50 million to 60 million, marking a strategic enhancement to relieve congestion and bolster transaction throughput. This upgrade, executed by the core development team, is documented as SIMD-0256. The broader proposal, SIMD-0286, envisions raising this cap to 100 million. Solana stands to benefit substantially from increased throughput and enhanced scalability. The adjustments make Solana more attractive to developers focused on decentralized financial applications, particularly those engaging in complex operations. A historical look at Solana’s infrastructure upgrades indicates a positive correlation between increased block capacity and network activity. The planned boost to 100 million compute units may further reinforce Solana’s industry position. The network continues to navigate regulatory landscapes without notable institutional responses as of now.

Solana continues to demonstrate significant technological advantages, particularly its high throughput capabilities. Recent data confirms it maintains a leading position in real-time transaction processing speed, significantly outpacing major competitors like Ethereum. This performance stems from Solana's unique hybrid consensus mechanism combining Proof-of-Stake with its innovative Proof-of-History, enabling faster validation times. Developer activity within the Solana ecosystem exhibits robust growth, contrasting positively with broader market trends. Metrics from Electric Capital reveal a 21% year-over-year increase in full-time developers committing code on the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM). This positions Solana as a leading destination for new developer talent entering the blockchain space, surpassing all other ecosystems in attracting new developers during 2024. Adoption within the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) sector shows strong momentum on the Solana network. Total Value Locked (TVL) in Solana-based DeFi applications has more than doubled over the past year, reaching a substantial $10.5 billion. This growth underscores increasing user trust and capital allocation, further evidenced by Solana consistently ranking as the highest revenue-generating blockchain over recent 30-day periods.

A notable emerging trend on Solana is the rapid expansion of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). Solana now hosts tokenized representations of various financial assets, including stocks, with the total value held currently at $536 million. More significantly, the number of RWA holders on Solana surged by 729% within a single month, exceeding 60,000 users and highlighting significant interest in this application. Developments in the regulatory landscape could impact broader blockchain adoption, potentially benefiting established platforms like Solana. Recent policy shifts, including the passage of landmark crypto legislation in the U.S., indicate increasing institutional acknowledgment. Furthermore, industry predictions suggest a high probability of U.S. approval for a Solana-specific spot Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) later this year, which could simplify access for a wider range of investors. The Solana network is actively pursuing technical enhancements to support future scalability and adoption. A recent protocol upgrade successfully increased network block capacity by 20%. Additional upgrades focused on further improving transaction throughput are under active development and are anticipated for deployment before the conclusion of the current year.