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July 25, 2024 • 5 minute reading time

Announcing Jito (Re)staking, A Next-Gen Infrastructure Platform

Jito Foundation
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Solana HFT

The Jito Foundation is proud to announce that it has released the code for Jito (Re)staking, a next-generation hybrid staking, restaking, and VRT module.

Jito (Re)staking consists of two main components: the Vault Program and the Restaking Program. These work together to provide a flexible, scalable infrastructure for creating and managing staked assets, VRTs, and Node Consensus Operators (NCN).

Vault Program:

    • Manages the creation and operation of Liquid Restaking Tokens (VRTs)
    • Supports any/multiple SPL tokens as the underlying asset
    • Handles minting, burning, and delegation of VRTs
    • Allows for customizable delegation strategies across multiple operators and NCNs controlled by DAOs, multi-sigs, governance, or on-chain automation from protocols like StakeNet
    • Enforces flexible slashing conditions and caps as defined by the associated NCN

Restaking Program:

    • Facilitates the creation and management of NCNs and operators
    • Coordinates the relationships between NCNs, operators, and vaults
    • Implements flexible opt-in/opt-out mechanisms for NCNs, operators, and vaults
    • Manages the distribution of rewards and enforcement of slashing penalties

With this framework, Jito (Re)staking provides a highly flexible, lightweight way for networks to achieve consensus and economic security for many onchain and offchain activities. Jito (Re)staking can be thought of as both a staking and restaking product, capable of adding utility for tokens, securing mechanisms, providing an insurance fund, scaling base layers, or creating a risk backstop for almost any pre-existing network that has automated, but centralized, processes – all using an extremely customizable interface built with NCNs in mind. 

Jito (Re)staking is fundamentally multi-asset, capable of leveraging staked base assets such as JitoSOL, other liquid staking tokens, or any other SPL token. Jito (Re)staking additionally allows for fine-tuned slashing conditions with caps, enabling more nuanced risk management and security models tailored to each project's needs. For instance, projects may implement multi-tiered slashing with more severe punishments and multi-asset slashing for in-depth economic security.

Additionally, users will be able to create staking and slashing structures using any number of tokens, as well as seamlessly create liquid restaked tokens. This allows for diverse staking and delegation strategies, unlocking new possibilities for tokenomics across the Solana ecosystem.

Let’s look at one possible example:

ORCL is a hypothetical oracle provider protocol for the Solana network. It leverages multiple node operators to achieve consensus on the price of certain assets and provide those prices to DeFi protocols. However, the ORCL protocol interacts with its node operators based on business development relationships and systems of trust, rather than in the context of a fully fleshed-out economic incentive model. 

ORCL has a governance token, $ORCL. The project wishes to institute a staking system where users delegate their $ORCL to node operators, which are rewarded in $ORCL emissions for providing accurate prices. However, the internal lift for building such a system is significant. Using Jito (Re)staking, they can now quickly and efficiently institute token utility and secure the network via staking.

ORCL also wishes to ensure nodes are punished for bad behavior, such as downtime or reporting stale price data. Jito (Re)staking can introduce multiple forms of slashing, such as tiered slashing for prices reported outside certain percentage bounds.

Because ORCL’s economic security is reliant on a single asset in this instance, the network wishes to add an additional asset to ensure protection against exotic economic attacks. Jito (Re)staking allows the network to add JitoSOL (or any other staked asset) as a secondary staked asset, creating a dual-asset restaking system.

Finally, because certain users will want to earn staking and restaking rewards but also maintain their liquidity, ORCL allows stakers to mint the liquid restaking tokens $rORCL and $rJitoSOL that they can then use in DeFi.

The end result is an economic system that has successfully decentralized, incentivized, and hardened a core portion of a network’s functionality, creating new avenues of utility and economic activity. Jito (Re)staking sits at the heart of this system, driving growth for the broader ecosystem. 

However, this is but one example. Jito (Re)staking’s flexibility allows it to build networks capable of securing layer-2 sequencers and provers, insurance funds, cross-chain bridges, keepers and crankers, on/off-ramps, or nearly any crypto use case requiring decentralization and economic security. 

For NCN Providers

Every aspect of Jito (Re)staking was designed with NCNs in mind. Built on Solana's high-performance blockchain, Jito (Re)staking offers faster transactions and low fees, making it more accessible for a wider range of projects and users. 

The combined power of the Vault and Restaking programs provides a one-stop solution for launching and managing staking, restaking, and VRT products on Solana, streamlining the development process for projects.

The platform empowers projects to:

Accelerate Innovation:

    • Projects can focus on their core product while Jito (Re)staking handles the complex infrastructure of staking and restaking.
    • This means faster development times and more resources devoted to pushing the boundaries of what's possible in DeFi.

Supercharge Token Utility:

    • Projects can turn any SPL token into a staked (or restaked) liquid asset while remaining governance-compatible.
    • Jito (Re)staking provides the tools to implement staking, slashing, and rewards systems with ease.

Secure Networks at Scale:

    • Implement economic security for your protocol or off-chain services.
    • With customizable slashing conditions and multi-asset staking and slashing, projects can create flexible and powerful incentives for good behavior and safeguards against attacks.

Unlock New Liquidity Paradigms:

    • Projects can launch liquid restaking tokens for any asset with a single transaction. 
    • This opens up new possibilities for capital efficiency in DeFi, allowing users to stake or restake their assets while maintaining liquidity for other opportunities.

Manage Risk With Precision:

    • Projects can implement tailored asset and operator support and slashing conditions that align with their specific security needs.
    • Configurations are highly customizable, including the ability to set maximum slashable amounts per epoch per operator, ensuring predictable risk exposure. 

We believe these features will appeal to NCN builders across ecosystems, encouraging more development on Solana. 

For Node operators, stakers, and delegation managers

Node Operators

    • Clearly understand and control their risk profile by controlling which vaults and NCNs they support and reviewing on-chain slashing terms before opt-in.

VRT Delegation Managers

    • Make informed decisions with transparent, on-chain risk assessments for operators and NCNs.
    • Easily view and compare maximum slashable amounts across different operators and NCNs.

Stakers

    • Benefit from a more secure and transparent staking ecosystem, where risks are clearly defined and managed, leading to increased trust and stability.

Next Steps

Jito (Re)staking is entering audit and formal verification. The source code can be reviewed here.

Projects interested in building on the Jito (Re)staking platform are encouraged to contact us through this form. This includes NCNs, VRTs and node operators.