Original Title: Jito (Re)staking is here- Who will win the Solana restaking race?
Original Author: flow, crypto researcher
Original Translation: zhouzhou, BlockBeats


Editor's Note: This article introduces the restaking protocol Jito (Re)staking launched by Jito Labs on Solana, which allows the use of already staked SOL assets to earn higher returns and potentially participate in airdrops. Users can restake SOL through three providers (Renzo, Fragmetric, and Kyros), each differing in risk, liquidity, and potential returns. The article compares their features in detail and suggests preferring Kyros, which supports fair launches and has potential airdrop returns.


The following is the original content (for ease of reading and understanding, the original content has been rearranged):


After successfully creating the largest liquid staking protocol on Solana, Jito Labs brings another significant development: the launch of a new restaking protocol - Jito Restaking. This restaking project goes live today and will soon open for deposits, with an initial restaking cap of approximately $25 million (147,000 SOL). For those looking to achieve higher annualized returns on SOL and eager to participate in airdrop opportunities, this is a very attractive opportunity in the current market.


Before introducing how to maximize this opportunity, let's briefly review the basic principles of Jito restaking.


What is Jito Restaking


In simple terms, restaking refers to using already staked assets to provide security for specific decentralized services again. While it may seem unimportant, it is actually one of the most promising innovations of this cycle. The concept was pioneered by EigenLayer and first launched on the Ethereum mainnet in June 2023.



Examples illustrating how restaking actually works

Today, Jito finally brings this new technology to Solana through its restaking program.



Diagram showing the components of Jito Restaking

Core components of the Jito Restaking framework


The Jito Restaking framework consists of two main components: the restaking program and the vault program. They can be viewed as two independent entities collaborating to provide a flexible, scalable infrastructure for creating and managing staking assets, vault receipt tokens (VRTs), and node consensus operators (NCNs). VRT is Jito's term for liquid restaking tokens, while NCN is similar to active verification services in EigenLayer, representing entities that will utilize Jito's restaking solutions.


The main function of the restaking program is to manage the creation of node consensus operators (NCNs), the user selection mechanism, as well as the reward distribution and penalty mechanisms. This part is invisible to users and can be seen as the core support of Jito's restaking solution.


The vault program is responsible for managing liquid restaking tokens (VRTs) and customizing various restaking strategies through DAO or automated protocols. This serves as the main interface for users to participate in restaking. It can be likened to the restaking role of EigenLayer being handled by the restaking program on Solana, while the vault program acts similarly to EtherFi, serving as a liquidity layer between users and the core restaking protocol.


Image showing how the Vault program works


3 VRT Providers


In the initial stages, Jito is only collaborating with three VRT providers: RenzoProtocol ($ezSOL), fragmetric ($fragSOL), and KyrosFi ($kySOL), who will jointly allocate an initial cap of 147,000 SOL. Therefore, any user wishing to restake SOL through Jito will need to choose among these three VRT providers.


Image of the landing page for Jito (Re)staking


Here is a summary of the main features of each VRT provider:



How to choose the right VRT for SOL restaking?


When choosing which VRT to go with, the key is to find the best risk-return ratio.


The following is an analysis of each provider:


1. Risks: In terms of risks, the main focus is on protocol penalties (i.e., penalty risks) and liquidity risks. Given the current limited number of NCNs and their early stage, the risks for all providers can be considered roughly the same. Renzo and Kyros accept the best liquidity of JitoSOL, while Fragmetric accepts a wider variety of liquid staking tokens (LSTs), which may increase its liquidity risk. Additionally, Renzo and Kyros' VRTs will have liquidity from the outset, whereas Fragmetric's tokens are initially non-transferable. Therefore, in terms of risk, Renzo and Kyros have the lowest risk, while Fragmetric has slightly higher risk.


2. APY Returns: The APY for each project is expected to be similar, but it can be considered that Renzo and Kyros, by only using JitoSOL, may have a slightly higher expected APY than Fragmetric, although the difference will not be significant.


3. Airdrop Potential: Given that all VRTs have similar risks and expected returns, the key factor in choosing a specific VRT lies in the potential for airdrop rewards. Renzo already has tokens, and while restaking may yield some future airdrop points, the potential is relatively low. In contrast, neither Kyros nor Fragmetric currently has tokens, thus presenting higher airdrop potential.


Further analysis of the differences between Kyros and Fragmetric:


Features of Fragmetric: Expected to receive venture capital support, may follow a high FDV, low circulation model; inclined towards a technical and decentralized user base; collaborating with risk management company Gauntlet; tokens are initially non-transferable; accepts various LSTs.


Features of Kyros: Backed by SwissBorg, helping to distribute $kySOL and possibly collaborating with major participants in Solana; may be funded through a fair community-driven token model; has not yet begun large-scale promotion; NCN allocation method may be based on DAO voting; supports JitoSOL.


Overall, KyrosFi is more attractive in several aspects. Firstly, SwissBorg's support makes it easier to distribute $kySOL and opens doors for collaboration with major partners in Solana. Secondly, Kyros may adopt a fair launch approach. Lastly, Kyros is relatively low-profile at the moment, which makes its airdrop return potential more attractive.


Of course, this is a personal opinion and for reference only. I hope this analysis helps you make a more informed decision when choosing to restake SOL.



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