Tezos governance has been very active lately. In June 2024, the Paris upgrade introduced important changes, including a new locked staking model and adaptive issuance that ties rewards to the ratio of staked XTZ.
Just a few months later, on November 24, 2024, another significant governance milestone was achieved with the approval of the Quebec proposal during Proposal Period 135. Quebec is anticipated to go live on Tezos in early 2025.
Two proposals were up for consideration:
Both proposals built upon the Paris changes but had no differences in approach besides in the adaptive issuance schedule. Ultimately, Quebec won with 187 million votes to 104 million, with a 33% participation rate among bakers.
Lower Block Times
Reducing block times from 10 seconds to 8 seconds will enhance performance and improve UX by offering faster finality.
Increased Delegation Limit
Bakers can now accept delegations up to 9x their stake, up from 5x. This benefits bakers, allowing them to earn higher rewards by accommodating more delegated stake.
Reduction in Voting Power for Delegators
Paris introduced locked staking, incentivizing users to stake rather than delegate their XTZ, and reducing delegated voting power by 50%. Quebec takes this further, reducing the voting weight of delegated XTZ to 33% of staked XTZ.
This adjustment encourages delegators to transition to staking for full voting power and rewards.
If you're currently delegating your XTZ to a Chorus One baker, visit this website to learn how to start staking and maximize your rewards!
Adaptive Issuance
Quebec implements a more aggressive reduction in baking rewards to address sell pressure on XTZ. Under Quebec, if 50% of XTZ is staked, the yield is reduced to 1%, compared to 3% in the Q3NA proposal, as depicted on the graph below.
Some validators and community members raised valid concerns:
While these concerns are noteworthy, the focus remains on the network's long-term health, and the community has clearly shown its preferred choice.
Despite some reservations about the steep reduction in issuance, Chorus One and other supporters voted for Quebec. This decision reflects confidence in the Tezos Foundation’s long-term vision and its alignment with the ecosystem's core contributors.
If you're currently delegating your XTZ to a Chorus One baker, visit our guide to learn how to start staking and maximize your rewards!
About Chorus One
Chorus One is one of the largest institutional staking providers globally, operating infrastructure for over 60 Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks, including Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, Avalanche, Near, and others. Since 2018, we have been at the forefront of the PoS industry, offering easy-to-use, enterprise-grade staking solutions, conducting industry-leading research, and investing in innovative protocols through Chorus One Ventures. As an ISO 27001 certified provider, Chorus One also offers slashing and double-signing insurance to its institutional clients. For more information, visit chorus.one or follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and Telegram.
Behind the Blocks is where we highlight the extraordinary individuals who make Chorus One more than just a workplace—it’s a space where passion meets purpose. "When I joined in 2022," says Chief People Officer, Flora Bondici, "I was drawn not only to the innovative work in decentralized infrastructure but also to the opportunity to be part of something deeply meaningful. At Chorus One, a career is more than a job—it’s a journey of growth, learning, and making a real impact."
As a fully remote and globally diverse team, we empower our people to thrive on their own terms. In this series, you’ll meet inspiring team members like Thalita Franklin, who entered Web3 through a developer course we sponsored, alongside others who’ve forged unique paths into blockchain. Their journeys reflect a culture built on transparency, collaboration, and curiosity. Let’s dive into Thalita’s story and explore how her work is shaping the future of decentralized technology.
From Web2 to Web3: Thalita’s Journey to Chorus One
Today, we’re excited to feature Thalita Franklin, Networks Lead at Chorus One. From Brazil to Portugal, Thalita’s journey into Web3 started with a unique opportunity—a one-month Web3 developer course sponsored by Chorus One. Now a key leader in the company, Thalita shares how that opportunity opened the door to a thriving career in blockchain, and how her work continues to make an impact across the ecosystem.
Q: How long have you been with Chorus One, and what’s your role? What does your day-to-day look like?
Thalita: I’ve been with Chorus One for 2,8 years, but it all started when I applied for a one-month Web3 developer course. Chorus One sponsored 10 women, and I was lucky enough to be one of them. That experience introduced me to the world of blockchain and gave me a chance to prove myself. I started working on Solana as a Research Analyst, but now I’m the Networks Lead. My day-to-day involves a mix of deep work in the mornings, being in between the business and engineering, handling projects like staking research, and meetings with internal teams and external partners to explore investment opportunities or new networks we’re looking at.
Q: Can you tell us more about that initial course and how it shaped your journey?
Thalita: Absolutely. Before joining Chorus One, I was living in Brazil and didn’t have much experience in Web3. When I saw the opportunity for the Web3 developer course, I knew I had to apply. The fact that Chorus One was sponsoring women to join the space really stood out to me. During my initial 3 months with Chorus One, I found out about MEV and started working on a project focused on MEV (learn more), after I joined, which was my introduction to how complex and exciting the blockchain space has become. The course gave me the confidence and skills I needed to step into this field. It was an incredible launchpad that led to where I am today.
Q: What’s it like being a Networks Lead at Chorus One? Can you walk us through your typical day?
Thalita: Being a Networks Lead is both challenging and rewarding. I focus a lot on analyzing new staking opportunities and keeping up with our live networks like Solana and Cosmos. My mornings are all about focus—whether it’s research or preparing for the day’s meetings. I have most of my meetings around midday due to different time zones, and those can range from internal strategy sessions to calls with networks we’re looking to partner with. I also work closely with the ventures team to explore potential investments, which keeps things really interesting.
Q: What’s one of the most exciting projects you’ve worked on, and why did it stand out?
Thalita: I’d say the Solana project was the most exciting. When I first started, many people were skeptical about Solana’s potential, but Chorus One believed in it. I got heavily involved in the research and educational content creation for Solana, which was a big part of getting people to see the value in the project. Watching Solana grow and survive through challenges was incredibly fulfilling. It showed me that research and education could really make a difference. Plus, I enjoyed hosting podcasts about it—getting to communicate the value of these networks to a broader audience is something I love.
Q: Can you share a moment when your research directly influenced a major decision at Chorus One?
Thalita: A big one was our work on MEV. I was involved in researching and creating educational materials about it, and it became clear how important MEV was to the validator ecosystem. This work helped Chorus One adjust our strategy, not just in how we provide infrastructure, but in how we approach new networks and educate our partners and the broader community. It was one of those moments where you can see your research shaping decisions that impact the entire company.
Q: Beyond Chorus One, how does your work impact the broader ecosystem?
Thalita: Our role as validators goes beyond just running nodes. We try to contribute to the broader conversation around blockchain economics and how validators can provide more than just infrastructure. For example, our educational work on MEV and other topics has helped the community better understand the increasing complexity of the new trends. It’s important to me that the work I do has a ripple effect beyond Chorus One, whether it’s through writing articles, giving feedback to networks, or sharing insights on podcasts.
Q: You work closely with many teams across Chorus One. What’s been your favorite moment of collaboration?
Thalita: One of the best moments was to find myself having casual dinners at the beach with Gabriella, Maria and other team members. It’s through these informal moments that remind me how connected we are as a team. In terms of work, I’ve really enjoyed collaborating with the ventures team. We work together to evaluate potential investments and decide which networks we should get involved in. It’s been incredibly rewarding to see how those collaborations lead to tangible growth for Chorus One.
Q: How has Chorus One supported your career and personal growth?
Thalita: Chorus One has been amazing in helping me grow. When I first joined Web3, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to focus on development or something else, but they gave me the room to explore. Over time, I found my strengths in leading network research, and they’ve supported me all the way. On a personal level, moving from Brazil to Portugal was a big step, but the team was so supportive. Being closer to the team has helped me feel more empowered in my role.
About Chorus One
Chorus One is one of the largest institutional staking providers globally, operating infrastructure for over 60 Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks, including Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, Avalanche, Near, and others. Since 2018, we have been at the forefront of the PoS industry, offering easy-to-use, enterprise-grade staking solutions, conducting industry-leading research, and investing in innovative protocols through Chorus One Ventures. As an ISO 27001 certified provider, Chorus One also offers slashing and double-signing insurance to its institutional clients. For more information, visit chorus.one or follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and Telegram.
Chorus One is excited to announce our partnership with Fragmetric, a leading liquid restaking protocol on Solana.
Restaking, one of the most significant innovations in the crypto space in recent years, is now arriving on Solana through Jito Restaking. This platform will leverage Solana native assets to support Node Consensus Networks (NCNs), applications that deliver services to Solana users.
While progress in liquid restaking has been impressive, the space still faces challenges that slow down its growth:
Fragmetric solves these issues with $fragSOL, an innovative liquid restaking token (LRT) powered by Solana's unique features:
Stay tuned as Chorus One shapes the future of restaking with Fragmetric and $fragSOL!
About Fragmetric
Fragmetric is a native liquid restaking protocol on Solana, with a vision of enhancing the Solana ecosystem's security and economic potential. Through implementing advantage of Solana's token extension, Fragmetric has effectively implemented NCN reward distribution. Furthermore, Fragmetric designed practical solutions, the Normalized Token Program for leveraging various LSTs in restaking platforms. Fragmetric’s mission is to build a secure, transparent, and highly efficient restaking infrastructure that empowers users and supports the stability of the Solana's restaking ecosystem.
About Chorus One
Chorus One is one of the largest institutional staking providers globally, operating infrastructure for over 60 Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks, including Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, Avalanche, Near, and others. Since 2018, we have been at the forefront of the PoS industry, offering easy-to-use, enterprise-grade staking solutions, conducting industry-leading research, and investing in innovative protocols through Chorus One Ventures. As an ISO 27001 certified provider, Chorus One also offers slashing and double-signing insurance to its institutional clients. For more information, visit chorus.one or follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and Telegram.
Restaking is an emerging concept that has quickly become a central theme in the current crypto cycle. However, this concept is not new; the earliest example of restaking can be traced back to Polkadot’s Parachain system. Each Parachain can have its own specific use case, governance model, and tokens, but they all benefit from Polkadot’s shared security model, meaning they don’t need to secure their own networks. Instead, they rely on the Relay Chain for security, allowing the stake on Polkadot to secure other chains.
This concept has also been adopted by Cosmos through Interchain Security. The concept of Replicated Security involves one blockchain serving as a security provider for other blockchains. The blockchain that provides security is referred to as the Provider Chain, while the blockchains inheriting the full security and decentralization of the Provider Chain are called Consumer Chains.
More recently, the concept has been brought to Ethereum via EigenLayer, and projects like Symbiotic and Karak have also emerged, actively competing within Ethereum's ecosystem. On Cosmos and Polkadot, restaking is embedded directly within the protocol, in contrast on Ethereum, restaking is facilitated via smart contracts, creating a more open market where restaking marketplaces can operate independently. Here, the idea is to use ETH, ETH LSTs, or ERC20s to secure other networks, known as Actively Validated Services (AVS), in order to earn additional yield while accepting additional risks, such as slashing (which would come in the future). With Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap and the growth of Layer 2s, liquidity and dApps are increasingly shifting away from Ethereum Layer 1 to L2s. As a result, the core value proposition of Ethereum Layer 1 will become its economic security and large market capitalization. EigenLayer, along with other restaking marketplaces like Symbiotic and Karak, capitalizes on this by offering economic security to Ethereum-aligned external networks.
In this paper, we will provide an overview of the restaking market on Ethereum as it stands today, explore its business model and economics, and discuss the future of the restaking landscape and its challenges.
In the Ethereum restaking space, 3 prominent platforms have emerged: EigenLayer, Symbiotic, and Karak. EigenLayer has taken the lead as the first restaking marketplace to launch on Ethereum Mainnet and continues to dominate in terms of Total Value Locked (TVL), with over 4.17 million ETH equivalent.
On June 19, 2024, EigenLayer reached its peak TVL, hitting an all-time high of 5.43 million ETH equivalent before experiencing a slight decline.
Symbiotic began accepting deposits on June 11, 2024, quickly reaching its initial deposit cap of 41,290 wstETH in just 5 hours. A second cap of 210,600 wstETH was set on July 3, 2024, and was also reached within 4 hours. The last cap was introduced on August 14, 2024, coinciding with the launch of BTC deposits. These different deposit caps are clearly visible in the graph below.
Currently, Symbiotic has approximately 644,000 ETH equivalent deposited on its platform.
Note: Symbiotic has not yet launched its mainnet, users can only deposit funds at this stage.
Karak successfully launched its mainnet on October 18, 2024, marking a significant milestone for the platform. However, the protocol has attracted slightly fewer deposits compared to both EigenLayer and Symbiotic, with around 205,000 ETH equivalent deposited.
In this competitive market, despite the emergence of new platforms, EigenLayer remains the clear leader, holding approximately 6x more TVL than Symbiotic and 20x more than Karak.
A significant portion of EigenLayer's TVL is driven by Liquid Restaking Protocols (LRTs). Our analysis of the major LRTs on EigenLayer shows that they currently account for approximately 75.37% of the platform's TVL, with an all-time high of 75.46% in July 2024. This indicates that more than 75% of the TVL in EigenLayer comes from users interacting with Liquid Restaking protocols rather than directly through the EigenLayer application.
The protocols included in our analysis are EtherFi, Renzo, Puffer Finance, Kelp DAO, Swell, and Bedrock.
When examining the composition of each LRT, we can see that EtherFi is the largest LRT contributor on EigenLayer, followed by Renzo and Puffer.
There are several reasons why LRTs have become the primary liquidity source for EigenLayer and restaking platforms in general:
Looking at Symbiotic, a similar pattern emerges, with approximately 61.61% of the TVL coming from Mellow vaults and EtherFi. This highlights that a large portion of liquidity is funneled through external protocols rather than directly through Symbiotic itself.
Only about 38.39% of the total TVL has been deposited directly via the native Symbiotic app.
For Karak, the situation is a bit different. It appears that there is only one major LRT on Karak, which is EtherFi with around 17% of the TVL, while 83% of the Karak TVL has been deposited on the native app.
Let’s dive into recent movements in the restaking space. A quick look at the inflows and outflows between EigenLayer and Symbiotic suggests that large inflows into Symbiotic correspond with outflows from EigenLayer.
Based on a recent analysis from Gauntlet, covering the period from June to September 2024, approximately 1,011,000 ETH was withdrawn from EigenLayer during this time. Of this, around 170,000 ETH was moved directly to Symbiotic. However, users didn’t just transfer this amount, they added another 37,000 ETH on top, making a total of 207,000 ETH deposited into Symbiotic.
The 207,000 ETH deposited into Symbiotic accounts for about 42.20% of the 488,000 ETH locked in Symbiotic at that time, meaning that approximately 42.20% of Symbiotic's TVL came directly from withdrawals on EigenLayer.
However, it’s important to note that only 16.5% of the ETH withdrawn from EigenLayer has remained within the restaking ecosystem, while the other 83.5% has exited the market entirely for now.
EigenLayer and Symbiotic flows, Source: Gauntlet
Restaking is supposed to allow networks, commonly known as Actively Validated Services (AVSs) in the restaking ecosystem, to quickly bootstrap a validator set and get a certain level of economic security with minimal time investment.
In this model, platforms like EigenLayer, Symbiotic, and Karak act as marketplaces where restakers, operators, and AVS entities come together. However, their goals are not the same. Here’s a breakdown:
At this point in the market, very few AVSs have clearly defined how much economic security they need or how much they are willing to offer to attract operators and restakers.
Who is restaking meant for?
Restaking has not yet found a clear product-market fit. It isn’t particularly suited for high-value, high-FDV networks, as these networks are large enough to offer large incentives, manage their own validator sets, and provide additional utility for their native tokens (for example, staking the native token to earn a staking yield, rather than paying restakers who hold a different token). It’s difficult to imagine large networks like Monad or others using restaking.
That said, restaking seems more suitable for small to medium-sized projects that don’t yet have the resources to bootstrap a totally sovereign network. Restaking allows them to grow, mature and find product-market fit before being totally sovereign without relying on 'rent' payments to holders of other tokens. However, there are also some AVSs that use restaking for very specific purposes and are not intended to be sovereign, as they bring services and value to the underlying Layer 1.
EigenDA stands out as the first AVS to distribute yield to both restakers and operators. Currently secured by around $10 billion in economic security, it has become a significant player in the emerging restaking ecosystem. However, the economics of maintaining such a network pose several challenges and require a closer examination.
Yield Distribution and Economic Security
EigenDA currently offers 10 ETH per month in rewards to restakers and operators. With a TVL used for economic security of around $10 billion, the total annual amount distributed to operators and restakers corresponds to $300,000 assuming the price of ETH at $2,500. Assuming an economic security of $10 billion, this represents a gross APR of just 0.003%.
This low yield highlights a key challenge in the restaking model: balancing the need for economic security with adequate incentives for participants.
The Cost of Running an AVS
The cost of operating an AVS varies based on the specific infrastructure and requirements needed for it, but on average, we estimate the monthly infrastructure cost to run at around $400 per AVS. Over the course of a year, this represents approximately $4,800 for a single AVS. With 18 AVSs currently in the market, the annual cost for one operator to run all of them comes to $86,400. It’s important to note that this figure does not account for additional expenses such as the salaries of the DevOps teams required to maintain and secure the infrastructure.
EigenLayer currently has 340 operators running at least one AVS each. If an AVS wants to fully leverage the economic security provided by EigenLayer while ensuring that operators cover their infrastructure costs, the financial commitment grows significantly. The formula is simple:
• $400 per month per operator
• 340 operators
This results in a total annual infrastructure cost of $1.63 million. And that’s just for maintaining the infrastructure by 340 operators, it doesn’t include the incentives that need to be paid to restakers.
Cost for an AVS to cover infrastructure costs
EigenLayer has introduced programmatic incentives to maintain its TVL on the platform. You can track the yield from these incentives here. EigenLayer is distributing 16,736,467 EIGEN to Eigen restakers and operators over one year, and 50,209,400 EIGEN to ETH and ETH LST restakers. This not only supports the restaking economy but also helps AVSs to take the time to find ways to incentivize operators and restakers.
In most cases with restaking, AVSs that aren’t yet generating revenue will likely introduce a native token to incentivize restakers. This means they will use their native token to compensate ETH restakers or other ERC20 restakers. As a result, restakers who may simply prefer their rewards in ETH or a specific ERC20 token, are likely to automatically convert these AVS rewards back into their preferred tokens.
Economically, this model is fundamentally weaker than a traditional Proof of Stake system. In traditional staking, participants buy the native token, show commitment to the project, and stake to earn rewards. Since they’ve invested in the native token, they are more likely to hold onto their staking rewards longer than restakers who receive AVS rewards.
In today’s restaking market, there are also auto-compounding products that automatically convert restaking rewards into ETH to boost the restaked position, which encourages immediate selling of AVS tokens.
As slashing goes live, we expect restakers to pay closer attention to the operators they select, particularly the quality of services offered. Additionally, TVL growth will likely be driven by operators’ ability to deliver the best risk-adjusted returns.
Marketplaces are expected to become more flexible, with leading AVSs establishing caps on the amount of security they require or incentivize. The evolution of TVL numbers for AVSs is likely to change as soon as the activation of slashing and yield mechanisms will encourage each AVS to set limits on the TVL they incentivize. This implies that delegations to each AVS will be limited, or yields will be diluted, as AVSs aim to avoid paying for excess security they don’t need.
The introduction of a new security model that distinguishes between "unique" and "total" stake will reshape distribution.
We anticipate different methods by which AVSs will compensate operators for providing security:
At this stage, we believe the leading node operators will benefit in two key ways:
This change in economic conditions could impact major Liquid Restaking Protocols. They attracted substantial liquidity thanks to their own incentives in native tokens, but they now have billions in economic security to provide to AVSs, which, on the other hand, will be difficult to incentivize given the high amount to incentivize for the AVSs. What we see is the following:
To be sustainable, the best LRTs must offer at least the Ethereum staking yield and compete directly with Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs). This is why many LRT protocols accept native ETH (such as EtherFi, Renzo, Swell, etc.). Even if the restaking yield isn’t significant, users still gain exposure to an LST+ protocol, meaning they receive the benefits of liquid staking as a baseline, with potential upside if the restaking yield becomes attractive.
The Ethereum restaking ecosystem has unlocked new possibilities, enabling small to medium-sized projects to leverage Ethereum’s economic security. While restaking offers significant advantages, its current economic model and design face some challenges. As Ethereum restaking continues to evolve to address these issues, we can expect increased collaboration between AVSs and leading operators, fostering a stronger and more sustainable ecosystem for restakers.
Chorus One is one of the largest institutional staking providers globally, operating infrastructure for over 60 Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks, including Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, Avalanche, Near, and others. Since 2018, we have been at the forefront of the PoS industry, offering easy-to-use, enterprise-grade staking solutions, conducting industry-leading research, and investing in innovative protocols through Chorus One Ventures. As an ISO 27001 certified provider, Chorus One also offers slashing and double-signing insurance to its institutional clients. For more information, visit chorus.one or follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and Telegram.
