sMON, Explained: Setting Expectations for Liquid Staking on Monad
Posted April 08, 2025
Liquid Staking let users stake their MON and use across DeFi at the same time. Rather than locking tokens up, users receive a tokenized representation of their stake, the Kintsu sMON LST, as collateral for their staking position. As staking rewards accumulate, sMON increases in value, enabling users to earn yield while staying liquid.
This is the standard behavior of LSTs on mainnet. And with Kintsu Testnet, we’re offering users a preview of that experience today.
Setting Expectations Early
Kintsu’s Testnet isn’t just about testing functionality, it’s about helping users understand how staking will work once Monad’snative staking infrastructure is live. We’re building familiarity now, so the transition to mainnet feels seamless later.
Although staking isn’t live on Monad yet, Kintsu simulates the yield accrual experience from day one. Users can stake MON to mint sMON, which gradually increases in value relative to MON. This reflects how LSTs will behave once rewards begin accruing on-chain.
sMON is more than a placeholder — it’s a demonstration of what productive capital looks like. That’s why we call it Super Staking.
How sMON Accrues Value on Testnet
sMON = MON + Yield
On Kintsu Testnet, sMON is designed to simulate the real-world behavior of a Liquid Staking Token (LST), before Monad staking goes live. Even in this testnet phase, users can experience how sMON grows in value relative to MON over time, mirroring the dynamics of a live staking environment.
Here’s the core formula:
sMON = MON + Simulated Yield
We’re simulating:
11% APY on staked MON
1% annualized protocol fee, applied automatically in the exchange rate
Resulting in a net simulated APY of ~10%, auto-compounded over time
This 10% yield reflects expected staking rewards from issuance and MEV.
Example — Month 1:
You stake 1,000 MON
You receive 1,000 sMON
After one month, you earn ~8.3 MON (0.83%)
Your sMON is now worth 1,008.3 MON
Example — Month 2 (compounding):
Yield is now calculated on 1,008.3 MON, not 1,000
You earn ~8.37 MON (0.83% of 1,008.3)
Total value after 2 months: ~1,016.67 MON
This continues monthly, gradually increasing the rate of yield earned each period through auto-compounding.
The number of sMON tokens in your wallet stays the same, but their redeemable value in MON increases over time through simulated yield accrual. Giving you a real preview of what mainnet staking will feel like.
Why This Matters
sMON
Yield accrual is core to every liquid staking protocol. What sets Kintsu apart is that we’re simulating this behavior before staking even goes live. We want the Monad community to internalize the benefits of LSTs early: the ability to stay liquid, earn yield passively, and use your assets across DeFi all without the need to unstake.
sMON isn’t just a staked version of MON, it’s Super MON: composable, capital-efficient, and designed to prepare users for a future where liquid staking is the norm.
Whether you’re a DeFi native or exploring Monad for the first time, sMON offers a hands-on introduction to how staking should feel: seamless, fluid, and rewarding.
This is the foundation. The future is liquid, and it starts now.
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