Symbiotic Devnet Goes Live, Challenging EigenLayer in Restaking Race

DeFi Ethereum Staking

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Veronika Rinecker

Crypto Journalist

Veronika Rinecker

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Mar 2024

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Veronika Rinecker is based in Germany and studied international journalism and media management. She specializes in reporting on topics such as politics and regulation, energy, blockchain, and...

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August 12, 2024

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Restaking protocol Symbiotic has taken a major step forward with the launch of its devnet on Ethereum‘s Holesky test network, according to the company’s announcement from Aug 12. This comes just two months after the project emerged from stealth mode.

Symbiotic is the first shared security protocol on Ethereum to implement architecture for slashing and rewards – key requirements for unlocking restaking’s full capabilities.

— Symbiotic (@symbioticfi) August 12, 2024

A Customizable Framework for Staking

Symbiotic is a shared security protocol that offers a customizable platform for networks to design securely their own staking systems. This includes choosing which assets to use as collateral, selecting node operators, and determining reward and penalty mechanisms (slashing). Unlike other platforms, Symbiotic doesn’t dictate these terms but rather provides a foundation for networks to build upon. This approach is similar to how an operating system provides tools for various applications.

Symbiotic's modular design is highly flexible. It supports any mix of tokens as restaked collateral. Slashing and reward logic is fully configurable. pic.twitter.com/DbRxSa9JlV

— Symbiotic (@symbioticfi) June 11, 2024

Unlike its competitor EigenLayer, Symbiotic focuses on giving networks maximum control over their staking setup and allows the use of a variety of ERC-20 tokens and is not limited to Ether (ETH) and staked Ether derivatives (such as Lido’s stETH).

Builders and networks can now test the integration of restaking into their stack with Symbiotic “shared security sandbox”. The platform’s core comprises vaults – smart contracts that hold any asset as collateral and define rules for its use. Curators evaluate network risk and quality, fostering transparency for stakers and operators. Operators provide essential infrastructure services, while resolvers maintain network security through slashing and penalty mechanisms.

Symbiotic also employs non-upgradeable core contracts on Ethereum, eliminating governance risks and single points of failure.

Mainnet Launch on the Horizon

A full mainnet release is expected later in Q3 2024, pending successful audits from independent security firms Chainsecurity, Statemind, Certora, Ottersec, and Zellic.

While currently trailing EigenLayer’s total value locked (TVL) of around $13 billion, Symbiotic has shown early promise. On July 3, the project surpassed the $1 billion mark within a month of its June launch, increasing its deposit cap from approximately 92,000 ETH. This prompted users to swiftly deposit over 232k ETH worth of liquid staking tokens (LSTs) into the protocol within a short timeframe, accumulating a value exceeding $700k.

Symbiotic highlighted on social media that its updated limit of 210,6k Lido Staked Ether (wstETH) was completely filled within just four hours. Additionally, its Ethena Staked USDe (sUSDe) pool reached its maximum capacity of 50 million tokens.

Symbiotic officially emerged from stealth on June 11, unveiling its staking protocol and confirming a $5.8 million funding round from Paradigm and cyber.Fund.