xORCA Staking & Governance
xORCA aligns the interests of ORCA tokenholders with the protocol's success by sharing rewards funded by protocol trading fees via a liquid staking mechanism. It strengthens the case for long-term holding, backed by protocol fees from the leading DEX on Solana with proven product-market fit.
Basics of xORCA
Staking Site : https://www.orca.so/stake
How it works
Stake your ORCA → receive xORCA, a tradable SPL token that grows in value over time (similar to a Liquid Staking Token)
SPL Token Address :
xorcaYqbXUNz3474ubUMJAdu2xgPsew3rUCe5ughT3N(view on Solscan)xORCA Staking Program ID:
StaKE6XNKVVhG8Qu9hDJBqCW3eRe7MDGLz17nJZetLT(view on Solscan)
The Mechanics
20% of Whirlpool protocol fees are used to buy ORCA on the open market
Purchased ORCA is deposited into the xORCA staking vault, increasing the ORCA/xORCA exchange rate
This means each xORCA gradually becomes redeemable for more ORCA — without you doing anything
Unstaking Process
To unstake: users redeem xORCA → wait for expiration of 7-day cooldown → Withdraw ORCA
Governance
Governance and upgrade authority are controlled by a 3-of-5 multisig (requiring 3 signatures out of 5 signers)
How xORCA Works
xORCA is a liquid staking token for staked ORCA.
Your ORCA is deposited into a vault
You receive xORCA tokens that represent a pro-rata claim on the vault. xORCA is a liquid token that can be used across Solana just like any other SPL token
Buybacks add more ORCA into the vault but do not mint new xORCA, the exchange rate between xORCA and ORCA rises
1 xORCA redeems for more ORCA over time.
Vault Mechanics
Exchange rate (ER): Determines how much ORCA each xORCA can be redeemed for
Buybacks: When ΔORCA is deposited without new xORCA minted:
Outcome: All existing xORCA become more valuable in terms of ORCA.
Why it matters : Buybacks increase the value of each token
Staking deposits: When depositing ORCA, new xORCA are minted increasing both vault balance and supply proportionally
Outcome: Exchange Rate (ER) remains unchanged
Why it matters: Staking is neutral — it allows new users to enter without diluting existing holders
Staking Lifecycle
Deposit
Stake: User deposits ORCA
Mint: program mints xORCA
Receipt: xORCA transferred to users wallet
Redemption
Redemption: user redeems xORCA → program burns xORCA and creates Claim Ticket
Cooldown: 7-day cooldown elapses
Withdraw: redeem Claim Ticket for ORCA
Redemption rate snapshot
A snapshot of the exchange rate is taken at the moment xORCA is burned and a Claim Ticket issued
Supply
Initial xORCA supply: 0
xORCA is a standard SPL token, fully transferable, composable, and DeFi ready - just like a Liquid Staking Token (LST)
Buybacks
Source: 20% of protocol fees. With a 12% protocol fee share, this equals 2.4% of total trading fees
Execution: Program purchases ORCA on the open market, deposits into vault
Key Acount Address
ORCA Vault (Orca ATA): [link] - The ATA in our wallet that actually holds all the ORCA
xORCA State Account: [link] - The "wallet" that the xORCA program owns to store ORCA tokens
Pre-launch ORCA buyback wallet: J4Y2ryHy32uiBNksCQ65Ati2euAUQWgd5UHU31oRtncS—this balance will be added to the xORCA vault in the future, details will be confirmed soon
Source of Staking Rewards
Fee Flow
Traders pay fees when they trade on Orca. Here's how those fees flow to xORCA holders:
12% of those fees go to the protocol
20% of that protocol share is used to buy ORCA—this equals 2.4% of total trade fees
The purchased ORCA goes into the vault → raising the value of xORCA
Exchange-Rate Growth
The value of each xORCA depends on the ratio between:
ORCA in the vault
xORCA in circulation
Mathematically this can be expressed with this formula:
ER = Exchange Rate
Valut ORCA = # of ORCA in valut
xORCA Supply = Total amount of xORCA in circulation
When buybacks add ORCA to the vault, the exchange rate increases even though no new xORCA is created.
Formula for a buyback:
B = ORCA added from buybacks
S = xORCA supply
What This Means For Stakers
Every buyback makes each xORCA redeemable for more ORCA
New stakers don’t dilute existing holders, because xORCA is only minted when ORCA is deposited
Over time, the exchange rate grows steadily, so your xORCA balance becomes more valuable without you doing anything
Example (24 Hours, Illustrative)
Volume: $1,000,000,000
Total fees: $800,000
Buybacks: $19,200
At $2.00/ORCA → 9,600 ORCA purchased
If supply = 10,000,000 xORCA and ER_old = 1.0000 → ER_new = 1.00096
Governance & Administration
Multisig (3-of-5): Manages upgrade authority, parameter changes, and pause controls.
Authorities
Upgrade authority: Multisig
xORCA mint authority: program PDA
Vault authority: program PDA
Emergency controls
The multisig has the ability to:
Pause stake/unstake (withdrawals always available)
Change buyback source wallet
Optional guardian role (time-limited, via timelock)
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