In traditional staking, native crypto assets are locked to secure networks and earn passive rewards. Liquid staking tokens (LSTs) enhance this by enabling users to unlock additional yield opportunities while retaining staking rewards. In Everscale’s, the main LST is StEVER. Built on transparency and community-driven principles, StEVER allows participants to earn rewards, maintain control over their staked assets, and leverage these tokens for liquidity farming, making it a cornerstone of Everscale’s ecosystem. In this article, we’ll explore StEVER’s benefits, and provide you with a step-by-step guide on obtaining it and putting to good use.
What are Liquid Staking Tokens (LST)?
Liquid staking has been a prominent topic in the crypto market throughout 2024. Its appeal is straightforward yet impactful.
In a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, used by virtually all modern blockchains, transactions are verified and new blocks produced using locked native crypto assets, or stakes. These stakes earn rewards, distributed automatically by a built-in algorithm of a blockchain protocol. Rewards are calculated as an annual percentage yield (APY), making staking a reliable source of passive income similar to a bank deposit. Thus, staking serves as a crucial economic driver for nearly every contemporary blockchain.
Liquid staking enhances this model. Instead of merely locking your native coins, you receive additional tokens proportionate to your stake that are freely transferable and usable, hence the term “liquid.” These liquid staking tokens (LSTs) can also be utilized for additional yield-generating activities, such as liquidity farming on decentralized exchanges (DEXs). This dual-income potential makes liquid staking an attractive alternative to traditional staking, offering an overall higher return in cryptocurrency.
In essence, liquid staking tokens are integral to this mechanism, enabling its functionality and benefits.
How Big is the Staking Reward Rate in Everscale?
In Everscale, staking rewards are distributed in the native cryptocurrency, EVER. As of late November 2024, Everscale’s staking rewards APY stands at 3.35%, putting this network in the middle compared to other blockchains. Maintaining the balanced reward rate is crucial: while higher incentives might attract more participants, they could also lead to inflation, potentially diminishing the value of EVER.
Liquid Staking in Everscale
In 2022, Broxus, Everscale’s core development team, introduced Staked EVER (StEVER), a decentralized protocol managing the eponymous LST on Everscale. Since its launch, StEVER has steadily gained popularity, replacing “classic” staking to become Everscale’s primary liquid staking solution.
StEVER adheres to Everscale’s principles of transparency and community engagement. It operates on open-source smart contracts, with the frontend’s code also publicly available on Github. Moreover, StEVER utilizes a customized version of depools, hosting the network’s leading validators. The code for StEVER depool contracts is fully accessible, ensuring community oversight.
How StEVER Works
StEVER operates on the same principles as LSTs in other major blockchain ecosystems. To participate, users stake their native EVER coins via the protocol’s app, receiving StEVER tokens in return. These tokens are fully transferable, offering users greater flexibility.
However, the exchange rate between EVER and StEVER is not fixed at 1:1 but is to a certain extent affected by market demand and supply. 1 StEVER currently costs approximately 1.1 EVER, reflecting a premium of about 10%.
While holding StEVER, the EVER coins you staked remain yours, continuing to accrue staking rewards with an 3.35% APY rate. Additionally, you retain the option to redeem your EVER coins at any time.
Where to Get StEVER?
There are two primary methods to stake your EVER and receive StEVER tokens: via the web app or the EVER Wallet. Before proceeding, note this important tip: only stake about 50% of your EVER coins. You will need the remaining balance to provide liquidity, as explained in the next section.
Method 1: StEVER Website
1. Visit the StEVER website and connect your EVER Wallet’s Chrome extension by clicking the button in the upper-right corner.
2. Enter the amount you wish to stake in the central exchange window, keeping an eye on the specified exchange rate. 3. Click “Stake EVER,” confirm the transaction in your wallet:
3. Wait for your StEVER tokens to arrive in a few moments.
Method 2: EVER Wallet
This method works both for EVER Wallet’s mobile app (either for iOS or for Android) and Chrome extension.
1. On the main screen of the EVER Wallet app, click the “Stake” button:
2. Enter the amount to stake in the pop-up window and confirm the transaction:
3. Your StEVER tokens will be deposited to your wallet in moments.
To unstake your EVER coins, follow the same process using either method. Just bear in mind that you should return StEVER tokens back.
Increasing the APY With StEVER
Once you’ve obtained StEVER tokens, the next step is maximizing their earning potential. The simplest strategy is to provide liquidity on Everscale’s decentralized exchange, FlatQube.
FlatQube is an automated market maker (AMM) protocol that offers fast and low-cost swaps and operates with dual-asset liquidity pools. One of such pools is composed of the StEVER/WEVER pair, where WEVER is a “wrapped” version of EVER (see our guide to WEVER for more details). Participants in these pools earn fees from swaps involving the paired assets.
To provide liquidity, you first need to acquire WEVER (if you don’t already have enough of these tokens). You can do it by swapping your EVER coins for WEVER at a fixed 1:1 exchange rate at FlatQube. Just go to the swap page and choose EVER and WEVER from the list, enter the amount, and confirm the operation.
Once you have both WEVER and StEVER, you need to add liquidity to the pool. On the StEVER/WEVER pool page, click “Add liquidity”:
On the next page, enter the amount of StEVER you wish to allocate in the exchange window, and the protocol will automatically calculate the corresponding amount of WEVER required. Confirm the transaction to complete the process:
Your position and pool statistics, including your share and accrued fees, will be displayed on the pool’s page.
By following these steps, you can leverage your StEVER tokens to generate additional income through liquidity farming, all while your staked EVER coins continue to earn staking rewards.