Validators run the show in any proof-of-stake network. They are the bridge between protocol rules and actual execution: validating blocks, signing attestations, and distributing rewards back to delegators. When they perform, the flywheel spins. Stakers earn rewards, re-stake them, compounding yield grows, and more capital flows in. When they miss, the flywheel stalls.

On Starknet, this dynamic is sharper than most chains. A missed attestation does not reduce your rewards proportionally. It eliminates them entirely for that epoch. Endur runs a curated three-validator architecture to keep that flywheel turning every single epoch.

Key takeaways:

• Validators are the operational backbone of any staking ecosystem, converting protocol incentives into real yield for delegators

• The validator-delegator-reward loop creates a compounding flywheel: better performance attracts more stake, which strengthens security, which sustains rewards

• Starknet's all-or-nothing attestation model means validator quality has a direct, measurable impact on your APY

• Endur operates three active validators , distributing stake across independent operators to minimize single points of failure

• Endur's backend auto-claims and re-stakes rewards every epoch, so xSTRK and xyBTC compound without any action from you

I. Validators Run the Show

Every proof-of-stake network runs on a simple loop: protocols define rules, validators execute them, and rewards flow to validators and their delegators. Those rewards get re-staked, increasing security, attracting more capital, and compounding the system. This staking flywheel only works if validators consistently perform.

Validators are the bridge between protocol design and real yield. You can have perfect tokenomics and reward schedules, but if validators miss attestations or go offline, rewards don’t materialize. The protocol allocates rewards and validators are the ones who actually earn them.

This is why networks like Ethereum and Solana place heavy emphasis on validator performance, whether through curated sets like Lido Finance or permissionless models like Rocket Pool. Across all designs, one truth holds: validator quality determines yield.

On Starknet, this is even more critical. Its Phase 2 staking introduces epoch-based attestations with an all-or-nothing reward model. Miss an attestation window, and both validators and delegators earn nothing for that epoch, no partial rewards, no recovery.

For stakers and especially for Endur, validator selection isn’t just important. It directly determines whether the reward flywheel compounds or breaks.

II. How Starknet Staking Works Under the Hood

To understand why validators matter, it helps to understand exactly how Starknet staking works.

Epochs and Attestations

Starknet organises time into epochs. Within each epoch, each active validator is assigned a set of randomly selected blocks to attest. Attestation means signing off on a block to confirm its validity, a lightweight but time-sensitive operation.

The key constraint: the attestation must be submitted within a defined block window. Miss the window, and that epoch's rewards for all delegators to that validator are forfeit. The model is deliberately strict. It is designed to identify reliable validators before they take on heavier responsibilities in future staking phases.

The Minting Curve

Starknet's total staking rewards are governed by a minting curve defined by this formula.

M = C/10 x sqrt(S)

Here, S is the staking rate as a percentage of total supply and C is the maximum inflation constant. The community voted with 98.94% approval to set C at 1.6%, making it one of the most conservative inflation models across any major L2.

At the current staking rate of roughly 23% of circulating STRK, this translates to an approximate 7% annual return for stakers. But that yield is meaningful precisely because it is scarce. There is no generous inflation buffer to absorb validator underperformance. Every missed epoch is felt.

How Rewards Flow to xSTRK

When you stake STRK through Endur, you receive xSTRK, behind the scenes, Endur's backend claims rewards and re-stakes them automatically every epoch. This is what makes xSTRK appreciate in value relative to STRK over time: each epoch's rewards are folded back into the pool, increasing the xSTRK exchange rate.

The same mechanism applies to BTC liquid staking variants (xWBTC, xtBTC, xLBTC, xsBTC).

If a validator misses attestations, those rewards are never claimed. The xSTRK exchange rate grows more slowly than it should. The impact is direct and compounding.

III. Endur's Three Active Validators

Endur routes capital to a curated set of three active validators rather than delegating broadly across the entire Starknet validator set. Each operator was selected for infrastructure quality, operational track record, and alignment with Endur's reliability standards.

Karnot (Largest Stake Allocation)

Karnot is the largest validator in Endur's delegation set by total stake. As the infrastructure partner behind Endur since launch, Karnot brings deep Starknet-native expertise, having built app-chain solutions for projects like Kakarot and Pragma. Karnot's validator runs with redundant infrastructure, automated failover, and 24/7 monitoring. It initially launched with a 0% commission rate to bootstrap Starknet's validator ecosystem and remains one of the most consistently performant operators on the network.

Twinstake (Institutional Infrastructure)

Twinstake operates as a regulated digital asset staking provider, bringing institutional-grade operational standards to Endur's validator set. This is the same infrastructure that powers Endur's institutional BTC staking pipeline, with compliance workflows, validator-level SLAs, and enterprise monitoring. Twinstake's inclusion ensures Endur meets the reliability bar required by institutional capital allocators deploying BTC into Starknet's consensus layer.

Unwrap Labs (Endur's Own Validator)

Unwrap Labs is Endur's in-house validator, operated by the core team behind the protocol. Running a first-party validator gives Endur direct operational visibility into network conditions, epoch timing, and attestation performance. It also ensures the protocol always has at least one operator it fully controls, providing a baseline for performance benchmarking against third-party validators.

Why Three Operators?

Distributing stake across three independent validators with distinct infrastructure setups protects against correlated failures. If Karnot's infrastructure experiences an issue in a given epoch, only the portion of stake delegated to Karnot is affected. Twinstake and Unwrap Labs continue earning. The reverse is equally true. This multi-validator architecture is fundamental to the consistency of xSTRK and xyBTC yield.

IV. What Endur Looks for in a Validator

Beyond its current three operators, Endur evaluates validators against four criteria before adding them to the delegation set.

1. Uptime and Attestation Rate

The most important metric. Starknet's Foundation Delegation Program and StarkWare's own delegation program both require 99% minimum liveness from participating validators. Endur holds its operators to the same standard. A validator with consistent near-perfect attestation records earns a position in the delegation set. A validator that misses regularly does not.

This is not just about the current snapshot. Endur evaluates historical performance over time to distinguish validators that had a brief operational issue from those with structural reliability problems.

2. Commission Rate and Fee Policy

Validator commission is the percentage of staking rewards retained by the validator before passing the rest to delegators. A validator charging 20% commission gives you 80 cents of every dollar earned. A validator charging 5% gives you 95 cents.

Endur targets validators with competitive commission structures that balance sustainable validator economics with strong returns for stakers. Extremely low commission can signal a validator operating at a loss, which introduces its own longevity risk.

3. Operational Standards

Professional validators run infrastructure with redundancy built in. Backup nodes, failover systems, alerting, 24/7 monitoring. Consumer-grade setups on a home server might post good numbers for months, then go dark overnight when something breaks.

Endur prioritises validators with demonstrable institutional or professional operational standards. All three of its current validators (Karnot, Twinstake, Unwrap Labs) run dedicated infrastructure with automated monitoring and incident response procedures.

4. Validator Concentration Risk

Distributing stake across multiple validators rather than concentrating it in one or two protects the protocol from single points of failure. This diversification also supports Starknet's decentralisation goals. A healthy, distributed validator set is better for the network's long-term security, and by extension, for the value of STRK itself.

Open Delegation vs. Curated Delegation

There are two broad approaches to validator selection in liquid staking.

Open delegation allows any validator to participate and receive stake. The stake is distributed algorithmically, often weighted by the size of the validator's existing stake. Rocket Pool on Ethereum is the clearest example: over 3,000 permissionless node operators, maximizing decentralisation but introducing variance in operator quality.

Curated delegation restricts the validator set to operators that meet defined criteria. Lido on Ethereum operates this way, with its Node Operator Sub Governance group (LNOSG) managing a permissioned set of roughly 30 professional operators. The protocol actively manages which validators receive stake and adjusts allocations based on ongoing performance.

Endur uses curated delegation for both STRK and BTC liquid staking. Capital is routed exclusively to its three vetted operators: Karnot, Twinstake, and Unwrap Labs. The validator set is reviewed and updated as performance data evolves, with the flexibility to add new operators like Threshold Network's validators, which were recently integrated to support tBTC staking flows.

The tradeoff is real. A curated set is less permissionless than an open one. But for holders who want consistent, reliable yield from their xSTRK and xyBTC, the reliability of curated infrastructure is the point.

VI. How This Shows Up in Your Returns

The difference between a validator with 99% attestation rate and one with 85% attestation rate is not 14% of your rewards. Because of the all-or-nothing epoch structure, a validator missing 15% of epochs loses 100% of rewards for those epochs, not a proportional share.

Over a year, the compounding effect of this difference is significant. Endur's auto-compounding mechanism means every epoch's rewards are re-staked. A missed epoch is not just a lost reward, it is also a smaller base for future compounding.

At scale, the aggregate difference between a 95th percentile validator set and an average one translates into meaningfully higher returns distributed to stakers. This is why Endur's curated approach with three high-performance operators exists: to capture as close to 100% of available epoch rewards as the infrastructure allows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see which validators Endur delegates to?

Yes. You can view all active validators, their commission rates, and their attestation performance on the Endur dashboard and on Voyager, Starknet's block explorer. Endur currently delegates to Karnot, Twinstake, and Unwrap Labs.

What happens if one of Endur's validators goes offline?

Endur distributes stake across three independent validators. If one goes offline, only the portion of stake delegated to that validator is affected for that epoch. The rest continues earning normally. Endur's backend monitors validator performance and can rebalance delegation in response to sustained underperformance.

Does Endur charge a fee for managing validator delegation?

Endur charges a 15% commission on staking rewards. This covers protocol operations, validator management, backend infrastructure, and ongoing security. Endur charges 0% on deposits and withdrawals.

Why do rewards auto-compound in xSTRK rather than being paid out separately?

Auto-compounding means your rewards immediately begin earning their own rewards. This is more capital-efficient than receiving separate reward payments and having to manually re-stake. The xSTRK exchange rate increases over time as rewards accumulate, so the longer you hold xSTRK, the more STRK each token is worth.

How is this different from delegating directly to a validator?

Direct delegation ties you to a single validator's performance and locks your STRK for 21 days when unstaking. Endur distributes stake across three curated validators, auto-compounds rewards every epoch, and gives you liquid STRK and BTC that can be deployed across DeFi protocols without unstaking.

Bitcoin institutional staking crossed $5 billion in total value locked by late 2025. Yet most institutions remain on the sidelines. The difference is infrastructure.

Endur and Twinstake have built integrated institutional-grade Bitcoin staking on Starknet, combining native liquid staking primitives with enterprise validator operations on a scalable zero-knowledge execution layer. This represents a structural shift: Bitcoin moving from idle balance sheet allocation to productive, programmable capital.

Key takeaways:

• $5B+ in institutional BTC staking TVL across protocols by late 2025

• SEC and IRS 2025 clarity removed the regulatory barriers that kept institutions out

• Twinstake's $1.3B+ AUM and 15,000+ validators brings institutional-grade operations to Bitcoin on Starknet

• Starknet enables capital structures that were not possible on Bitcoin or Ethereum alone

• Endur's infrastructure positions Starknet as the native execution layer for BTCFi

I. Institutional Yield Is Moving Onchain

Bitcoin is entering a structural shift.

For most of its history, institutional BTC exposure meant passive balance sheet allocation, held in custody, used as collateral in limited contexts, but rarely deployed into active yield strategies. That model is changing, driven by three converging forces.

1. Regulatory Clarity (The 2025 Catalyst)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission clarified in 2025 that liquid staking activities do not constitute securities transactions. Simultaneously, the IRS and Treasury Department announced that investment trusts and ETFs may stake digital assets without adverse tax consequences.

These rulings removed the single biggest barrier to institutional Bitcoin staking: legal uncertainty. Institutional treasurers and fund managers can now stake without exposing their organisations to securities law violations or ambiguous tax treatment.

2. Market Validation: $5B+ in Institutional BTC Staking

By late 2025, institutional Bitcoin staking protocols collectively accumulated over $5 billion in total value locked. This is institutional capital flowing into Bitcoin staking infrastructure at scale.

According to Grayscale's 2026 Digital Asset Outlook, institutional Bitcoin adoption has grown at a compound annual rate of 35-40% since 2023. Staking participation among institutional holders is accelerating even faster, at roughly 50% year-on-year growth, and the infrastructure is only just maturing.

3. Capital Efficiency Requirements

Institutions are increasingly seeking capital efficiency rather than simple price exposure. Rather than selling BTC to generate yield, institutions can now maintain directional exposure while unlocking secondary cash flows through structured yield models built around:

• Collateralised borrowing and stablecoin leverage

• Delta-neutral carry trades

• Liquidity routing strategies

• Automated leverage loops

Bitcoin becomes both reserve capital and productive infrastructure. This dual role aligns perfectly with institutional portfolio construction, where generating yield without reducing core exposure is a primary objective.

Why Bitcoin Staking Failed for Institutions (Until Now)

If institutional Bitcoin staking is such an obvious strategy, why has adoption lagged so far behind Ethereum staking, which already has $40B+ in institutional participation?

Three structural barriers were responsible:

Custody Complexity: Bitcoin staking historically required wrapping assets across multiple chains, each additional custody relationship introducing operational risk. Institutions could not stake natively without compromising their custody arrangements.

Operational Burden: Enterprise-grade staking requires 24/7 monitoring, compliance documentation, SLA guarantees, and audit trails. Most early Bitcoin staking protocols were built for retail, not institutional operations.

Tax and Regulatory Uncertainty: Until the 2025 SEC and IRS rulings, institutional treasurers treated Bitcoin staking as a legal grey area. Compliance teams blocked participation pending clarity.

All three barriers are now resolved. But this creates a first-mover advantage for infrastructure providers who can meet institutional requirements from day one.

II. Starknet as a Modern Execution Environment for BTCFi

Institutional adoption of onchain yield strategies depends on infrastructure maturity. Not every chain is suitable. Starknet's zero-knowledge rollup architecture introduces properties that are uniquely attractive to institutional participants. As Starknet's own research on Bitcoin as DeFi's native domain outlines, the chain was designed from the ground up for programmable BTC capital.

Cryptographic Security via Validity Proofs

Starknet relies on zero-knowledge proofs rather than social consensus to secure transactions. Every block is mathematically proven correct before settlement on Ethereum. For institutions managing hundreds of millions in capital, this cryptographic certainty provides a more defensible security posture than traditional multi-sig arrangements or optimistic rollup systems.

Scalable Execution for Complex Strategies

Starknet's throughput reaches 1,200+ transactions per second versus Ethereum mainnet's 12-15 TPS, while maintaining sub-second finality. Complex yield strategies, including staking, borrowing, collateralisation, and leverage loops, can execute reliably without congestion delays or failed transactions.

Cost comparison: Settlement on Starknet costs \(0.02-\)0.10 per transaction, compared to \(5-\)50 on Ethereum mainnet. For institutional operations executing hundreds of transactions per day, this difference compounds significantly.

Account Abstraction Enabling Programmable Workflows

Starknet's native account abstraction enables policy-based execution that institutional compliance teams require. An institution can programme rules such as:

• "Only approve staking operations above $5M with dual authorisation"

• "Auto-route yields into collateral positions when ratio exceeds 150%"

• "Rebalance portfolio if any asset allocation falls below 10% of target"

These programmable workflows are impossible on Bitcoin, impractical on Ethereum L1, and native to Starknet.

Efficient Settlement for High-Frequency Operations

As Starknet's lending and liquidity ecosystem matures, BTCFi strategies increasingly resemble structured financial products rather than experimental yield farming. Multi-layered strategies can execute atomically with no settlement risk between steps.

Starknet's Institutional Advantages

III. Why Twinstake: Institutional Validator Infrastructure

Liquid staking requires validator infrastructure capable of meeting institutional expectations. Good intentions are not enough. Institutional partners require operational proof.

Endur already delegates capital selectively to a curated validator set to ensure performance, resilience, and risk-managed distribution. Integrating Twinstake, an institutional-grade non-custodial staking provider operating across 20+ chains, takes this to a different level.

Enterprise-Grade Validator Operations

Twinstake operates 15,000+ Ethereum validators in production, with a 99.95% uptime record over three years of institutional operations. Every validator deployment includes audit trails for regulatory compliance, policy-based commission structures, and 24/7 incident response.

Institutional Capital Under Management

Twinstake manages \(1.3B+ in delegated assets across institutional clients including family offices, registered investment companies, and ETF managers. This includes \)1B+ in delegated Solana and $300M+ in Ethereum staking, proving their infrastructure performs at scale with serious capital.

Custodial Integration Capabilities

Twinstake integrates natively with the major institutional custodians: BitGo, Anchorage, and Coinbase Custody. For institutions that require assets to remain with their existing custodian while participating in staking, this separation of concerns is non-negotiable.

Integrating Twinstake strengthens both validator decentralisation and institutional accessibility, aligning the staking layer with professional investor requirements from the ground up.

This partnership strengthens Endur's institutional Bitcoin staking infrastructure on Starknet.

IV. Capital Efficiency: How Institutions Can Structure Yield With BTC LSTs

The real opportunity lies not just in staking yield, but in layered capital structures. This is where Starknet's composability becomes decisive.

Strategy 1: Base Yield + Collateral Access

Stake BTC wrappers to receive xyBTC variants (xWBTC, xtBTC, xLBTC, or xsBTC). Earn 4-6% APY in staking rewards. Use xyBTC as collateral in Starknet lending markets. Maintain full liquidity throughout. No lockup, no bridge risk, no custody transfer.

Strategy 2: Structured Yield via Delta-Neutral Carry

A concrete example:

• Stake \(10M WBTC -> receive \)10M xWBTC

• Deposit xWBTC as collateral -> borrow $7.5M in stablecoins

• Deploy borrowed capital into delta-neutral strategies (options selling, LP positions)

• Net result: 5-6% base staking yield + 2-3% leverage income = 7-9% total blended return

All positions remain onchain, auditable, and transparent. No prime brokerage counterparty risk.

Strategy 3: Tax-Efficient Treasury Management

Converting WBTC to xWBTC is not a disposal event. The xyBTC variant becomes productive capital while the original Bitcoin economic exposure is maintained. Institutions can generate yield without triggering capital gains tax on their core Bitcoin position, a particularly compelling structure for multi-year holds in jurisdictions with event-based taxation.

Strategy 4: Dynamic Portfolio Rebalancing

Use xyBTC variants as the collateral anchor within a broader portfolio. Programme automatic rebalancing rules via Starknet account abstraction. Access real-time liquidity via DEXs on Starknet. Respond to market opportunities without liquidating the core Bitcoin position.

These structures enable:

• Enhanced yield without sacrificing BTC exposure

• 2-3x improved capital efficiency vs passive allocation

• Dynamic treasury management with real-time rebalancing

• Full auditability and on-chain transparency

As BTCFi evolves, these strategies increasingly resemble traditional prime brokerage workflows, executed entirely onchain, without counterparty risk.

Institutional Bitcoin Staking at Scale

Bitcoin remains the largest pool of idle capital in crypto: over \(1.2 trillion in market capitalisation, with institutional holdings estimated at \)150-200 billion.

The infrastructure gap that prevented institutions from deploying that capital productively no longer exists.

Native BTC staking protocols provide direct staking but limited DeFi composability. Custodial solutions offer familiar custody workflows but constrained capital efficiency. Endur + Twinstake on Starknet provides liquid staking combined with the full Starknet DeFi ecosystem, the only solution built natively for institutional capital efficiency on a scalable ZK execution layer.

Each architecture serves different needs. But the convergence is clear: institutional capital will flow toward infrastructure that combines professional-grade operations with capital efficiency. That is what Endur and Twinstake have built together.

Market Projections

Based on Grayscale's 2026 Digital Asset Outlook and The Block's institutional research:

• Bitcoin institutional staking TVL projected to reach $15-25 billion by 2027

• Staking adoption rates among institutional Bitcoin holders growing at 50% year-on-year

• Post-regulatory clarity, adoption expected to accelerate by 3-5x over the next 24 months

Endur is positioned to capture significant share of this growth as the native Starknet solution combining validator operations, LST infrastructure, and full DeFi composability.

Bitcoin is becoming productive capital. Institutional staking is the execution layer for that shift.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is institutional Bitcoin staking?

Delegating Bitcoin to validator infrastructure in exchange for staking rewards. Endur enables this on Starknet: institutions deposit BTC wrappers (WBTC, tBTC, LBTC, solvBTC), receive yield-bearing liquid staking tokens (xWBTC, xtBTC, xLBTC, xsBTC), and maintain full liquidity while earning rewards.

How do BTC liquid staking tokens (LSTs) work?

Deposit a BTC wrapper (e.g. WBTC) into Endur's staking contract. Receive the corresponding xyBTC variant (e.g. xWBTC). Endur delegates to Twinstake's validators, earning 4-6% APY. Rewards accrue automatically. xyBTC is tradeable, usable as DeFi collateral, and redeemable for the underlying BTC wrapper plus accrued rewards.

Why Starknet for institutional Bitcoin staking?

Starknet settles in under one second at \(0.02-\)0.10 per transaction versus 6-12 hours and \(10-\)50 on L1. Endur provides 4-6% base APY with full DeFi composability, enabling structured strategies of 7-9% blended returns. Native BTC staking offers 0.5-1% with no DeFi integration.

How do institutions integrate via Bitcoin staking APIs?

Endur provides REST and WebSocket APIs for staking, unstaking, reward queries, and validator monitoring. Typical integration takes 4-6 weeks: discovery (1-2 weeks), sandbox testing (2-3 weeks), and compliance review (1-2 weeks).

What are the security and custody implications?

Twinstake operates validators (SOC 2 Type II, 99.95% uptime SLA) and never holds custody. Bitcoin remains with your existing custodian: BitGo, Anchorage, or Coinbase Custody. Three-party separation (custodian holds BTC, Twinstake runs validators, Endur manages staking contracts) eliminates single-entity risk.

What yields can institutions expect?

Base staking yields are 4-6% APY from validator rewards. With structured strategies including collateralised borrowing and delta-neutral positions, institutions can target 7-9% total blended APY. Yields vary based on network participation and market conditions.

That shift is exactly why Endur Season 1's points system, while effective at bootstrapping early adoption, needed a fundamental redesign. When idle capital earns the same as capital actively stabilizing markets, the incentive structure breaks. Liquidity providers tightening spreads on Ekubo, lenders deepening borrowing markets on Vesu, and vault depositors compounding yield through Troves were all treated the same as someone holding xSTRK in a wallet.

Season 2 fixes that asymmetry. This article breaks down how the new points framework works, why it weights behavior over balance, and what it means for stakers, liquidity providers, and institutional allocators looking to earn on Starknet.

Why we introduced Season 2 of Points Program

The Endur Points Program was never meant to be a short‑term growth hack. Season 1 was intentionally simple: incentivize STRK staking, bootstrap xSTRK adoption, and observe how liquidity behaves when users are rewarded for participation.

Season 1 delivered clear results with sustained staking growth, deeper xSTRK integration across Starknet DeFi, price appreciation of xSTRK, and users actively participating to stack Endur points and rank-up in the leaderboard. But Starknet itself evolved faster than the original incentive model.

With BTC liquidity entering Starknet and liquid staking primitives becoming composable across lending, AMMs, and vaults, a balance‑based points system was no longer sufficient.

Season 2 exists to answer a harder question:

How do you reward economic impact, that stabilize liquidity and utilization?

Endur Season 1 Recap: xSTRK Staking Growth

Season 1 points were distributed by calculating user actions from Day 1 retrospectively.

Season 1 followed a deliberately minimal model:

Daily Points = xSTRK Held × Base Multiplier (1×)

This design optimized for:

• Early adoption of xSTRK

• Simplicity and transparency

• Predictable rewards for active participation

The outcomes validated the approach:

• STRK staking TVL increased meaningfully

• Overall protocol TVL expanded ~6.6×

• xSTRK integrated into core Starknet protocols

• 250,000 xSTRK distributed back to active participants

Season 1 Emissions Cap & Recalibration

All points distributed during Season 1 are now capped at a fixed total of 10M points.

What this means in practice:

• Season 1 points are no longer inflationary

• A final recalculation will be applied to normalize all Season 1 allocations against the 10M cap

• Each user’s final Season 1 points will be proportionally adjusted based on their share of total points earned during the season

This ensures fairness across all participants while creating a clean transition into Season 2’s redesigned, behavior-weighted framework.

Season 1 built the foundation by proving that staking demand and LST adoption could scale.

The Core Shift in Season 2

Season 2 transforms Endur Points from a balance‑based incentive into a behavior‑weighted, impact‑driven framework.

The philosophy is simple:

• Not all actions contribute equally to market health

• Liquidity depth matters more than idle capital

• Capital efficiency should be rewarded more than raw size

Season 2 reflects Starknet’s reality as a dual‑asset staking ecosystem, where both STRK and BTC participate in securing and capitalizing the network.

Emissions & Distribution Mechanics

Season 2 introduces a tightly scoped and predictable emission schedule:

• Total Season 2 Emissions: 7.5M points

• Distribution Model: Weekly epoch‑based allocation

• Duration: 6 months

Daily point accrual has been removed.

Instead, each weekly epoch evaluates user behavior holistically and distributes points based on relative impact within that epoch.

Staking vs Contributing: How the 30/70 Points Split Works

Season 2 introduces a deliberate split in how points are allocated:

• 30% → Regular user actions

• 70% → Contributor actions

This is not arbitrary.

To further help Endur scale, contributors shall have a key role where they can help provide more liquidity in key utility areas. The fastest way to solve it is to prioritize capital that improves:

• DEX Liquidity depth: minimal slippages for users, strengthens use-case for instant liquidity and DeFi use.

• Lending Liquidity on Vesu: Helps utilise LST to borrow Stables, BTC and STRK, unlocking collateral value of staked assets while maintaining sustainable borrowing rates.

Regular Users

Regular users perform foundational actions such as:

• STRK staking

• BTC staking

• Vault participation

• Borrowing against LSTs

Contributors

Contributor actions receive higher multipliers because they directly improve Starknet’s financial infrastructure, rather than simply interacting with it. Each contributor action solves a specific structural constraint in the ecosystem.

1. Supplying BTC or Stables on Lending Markets

More lending liquidity of these assets increases the utility of xSTRK and xyBTCs.

2. LP via Troves-Managed Ekubo Vaults (Auto-Rebalancing)

Troves-managed Ekubo vaults:

• Maintain liquidity near the true price of LSTs

• Automatically rebalance as prices move

• Reduce slippage for swaps, redemptions, and arbitrage

This stabilizes LST pricing, improves peg confidence, and lowers friction across DeFi integrations. Because these vaults continuously maintain market health, they earn the highest multipliers in Season 2.

3. Concentrated Liquidity on Ekubo (Manual LP)

Similar to above, helps stability LST pricing but gives you the flexibility to manage liquidity as you want.

Note: Liquidity within 0.5% price of true price of LST will only be considered for added point multipliers.

Why the Skew Is Intentional

Season 2 prioritizes liquidity depth, price stability, and capital reuse, the three pillars that determine whether LSTs function as productive assets or remain yield wrappers.

Contributor actions:

• Compound the utility of staked assets

• Strengthen Endur’s capital markets

• Unlock participation from larger allocators and institutions that require deep, stable liquidity

This is why 70% of the total points allocation is set for Contributors.

To make contributing easier, Season 2 introduces a DeFi Opportunities tab that aggregates Earn, Borrow, and Concentrated Liquidity actions across Endur’s partner protocols, making it simple to find high-impact strategies and engage in contributor actions in one place.

How Multipliers Work in Season 2 (Explicit Breakdown)

Season 2 introduces a transparent, action-weighted multiplier system.

Every eligible action contributes to your points through a combination of a base multiplier and, where applicable, add-on multipliers.

At a high level:

Points = Capital Deployed × Base Multiplier × Add-On Multipliers

Base vs Add-On Multipliers

• Base multipliers apply to foundational actions such as staking STRK, staking BTC, or participating in vaults. These actions anchor the system and earn predictable, baseline rewards.

• Add-on multipliers apply when capital is deployed in ways that actively improve market quality — such as supplying liquidity, tightening spreads, or unlocking borrowing capacity.

Not all add-on multipliers are equal. Each action has a multiplier range, reflecting the fact that how capital is used matters as much as where it is deployed.

Multiplier Ranges & Impact Weighting

Multipliers in Season 2 are not fixed values. Instead, each action is assigned a range, and your effective multiplier within that range depends on deeper, impact-based metrics, including but not limited to:

• Duration of capital deployment

• Consistency of participation across epochs

• Relative contribution compared to other participants

• Market conditions and liquidity demand during the epoch

These factors ensure that capital providing sustained, high-quality liquidity is rewarded more than short-term or opportunistic behavior.

While the structure of Season 2 multipliers is transparent, the exact weighting and calculation logic is intentionally not disclosed.

By keeping the deeper metrics internal, Season 2 remains adaptive, fair, and resilient as Starknet’s liquidity landscape evolves.

What’s more in Season 2?

Season 2 is designed to evolve alongside Starknet’s liquidity landscape. Several targeted initiatives will roll out progressively to accelerate adoption, reward high-impact behavior, and surface long-term contributors.

1. One click Native Staking → LSTs migration

2. Endur Resilience Vault

Protocol managed liquidity, automatically routing liquidity to DEX, lending pools, or staking for yield. Prioritised optimal liquidity for Endur ecosystem while earning yield.

3. Referral program

4. Creators program

And many more…

Start Earning Endur Points Today

Endur Season 2 isn’t a points chase.

It’s about cultivating contributors aligned with Endur and turning participation into productive capital.

It begins with staking.

It expands through liquidity.

And it culminates in powering Starknet’s capital markets.

Season 2 is live.

Explore available staking and DeFi strategies on Endur and start earning Season 2 points today. For the latest staking data, check the Endur Dashboard.

For most of its history, Bitcoin has been a passive store of value. While Ethereum and other Proof-of-Stake networks enabled yield generation through staking, Bitcoin remained largely non-productive capital, held in custody or used sparingly in centralized lending markets.

That paradigm is now shifting.

With the emergence of BTCFi (Bitcoin DeFi) and execution environments like Starknet, Bitcoin is becoming a fully composable on-chain asset capable of generating yield, participating in DeFi markets, and maintaining liquidity.

Starknet now enables Bitcoin staking at the protocol level, allowing BTC to contribute to network security while earning rewards. Building on this foundation, Endur introduces liquid staking for Bitcoin, unlocking a new primitive:

Bitcoin that earns yield while remaining liquid and deployable across DeFi.

This is not an incentive-driven narrative. It is a structural shift toward making Bitcoin a productive financial asset within decentralized systems.

Supported BTC Assets on Starknet

• Endur enables liquid staking across the major BTC representations available on Starknet:

  • WBTC → xWBTC

  • tBTC → xtBTC

  • LBTC → xLBTC

  • solvBTC → xsBTC

  These assets represent different bridging and custody models for Bitcoin entering DeFi. Learn more about Bitcoin wrappers and their trust assumptions in our guide.

What is xyBTC?

xyBTC refers to Endur’s family of Bitcoin Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs).

• x → Endur prefix

• y → underlying BTC variant

Examples:

• xWBTC

• xtBTC

• xLBTC

• xsBTC

These tokens represent a yield-bearing claim on staked Bitcoin, where:

• The share count remains constant

• The value of each token increases over time

This follows the same exchange-rate model used in liquid staking systems like Ethereum LSTs, but adapted for BTCFi.

How Bitcoin Liquid Staking Works

Step-by-step flow

1. Deposit BTC (WBTC, tBTC, LBTC, solvBTC) into Endur

2. Receive corresponding LST (xWBTC, xtBTC, etc.)

3. BTC is delegated to Starknet’s staking layer

4. Rewards are generated in STRK

5. Rewards are auto-compounded into BTC denomination

6. LST exchange rate increases over time

Yield Mechanics

Starknet’s security model now includes BTC as a staking asset, with a growing portion of network security backed by Bitcoin.

• Rewards are emitted in STRK

• Endur automatically converts rewards into the underlying BTC asset

• Yield is reflected through LST appreciation, not token distribution

This creates a clean abstraction:

Users hold BTC-denominated assets while earning yield from network participation.

Liquidity Layer: Why Liquid Staking Matters

Traditional staking introduces lockups and illiquidity.

Endur removes this constraint.

With liquid staking:

• Your BTC remains fully transferable

• Your position remains DeFi composable

• Your yield accrues passively via exchange rate

This enables a new class of BTCFi strategies:

DeFi Composability on Starknet

Once minted, BTC LSTs can be deployed across Starknet’s DeFi ecosystem:

Lending & Borrowing

Use LSTs as collateral on:

• Vesu

• Opus

Borrow stablecoins while maintaining BTC exposure.

Liquidity Provision

Provide liquidity on AMMs such as:

• Ekubo

• AVNU

Earn trading fees on top of staking yield.

Automated Yield Strategies

Deploy capital into vault strategies via:

• Troves

Auto-compound yield across LPs and lending markets.

Exit & Redemption Mechanics

Endur supports multiple exit paths:

1. Standard Unstaking

• Unbonding period: ~7–8 days

• Reflects underlying staking mechanics

2. Secondary Market Liquidity

LSTs can be traded instantly via:

• Ekubo

• AVNU

This enables immediate exit without waiting for unstaking.

3. Deposit–Withdrawal Matching

Endur implements a matching engine:

• New deposits offset withdrawal requests

• Enables faster redemptions

• Zero slippage during matching

This creates a liquidity buffer layer on top of staking.

Security & Infrastructure

Security is foundational to BTCFi adoption.

• Endur smart contracts are audited and production-tested

• Built on Starknet’s zk-rollup architecture, ensuring: cryptographic validity proofs, scalable execution, secure settlement

Learn more.

Key benefits:

• Need faster exits?

  • Trade your LSTs instantly on Ekubo or Avnu DEXs, using actual LST liquidity on AMM.

  • Deposit-withdrawal matching lets Endur users redeem faster, with zero slippage during matching events. This is subject to liquidity availability which is dependent on new deposits. In any case, worst case unstaking time is 7-8 days. Learn more.

• Deep integrations in DeFi protocols:

  • Lend & Borrow: Use LST (liquid staked tokens) on lending protocols like Vesu and Opus.

  • Yield Strategies: Invest directly into automated strategies on Troves.

Security & Audits

• Smart contract security: Endur’s contracts have been audited; Learn more

Why Use Endur?

• Track Record: Over 10 months tested on Starknet, proven reliability in STRK LSTs.

• DeFi Experience: Built by a team with advanced experience in DeFi, BTC derivatives, and yield automation.

• Vision: Endur is positioned as a long-term protocol focused on secure, scalable STRK and BTC staking.

Start staking now?

Stake BTC, earn yield, and stay liquid—explore direct strategies, instant trading, and frictionless redemptions on Starknet and Endur.
Try now: endur.fi/btc

TL;DR:
BTC staking is finally live on Starknet, powered by Endur’s liquid staking program. Four popular BTC assets supported, auto-compounding, and full DeFi integration—all backed by rigorous audits.

• Starknet will enable Bitcoin (BTC) staking directly on its network, adding new utility to BTC.

• This will improve Starknet's security and decentralization by adding BTC to its economic layer.

• BTC will make up to 25% of validator power; STRK remains the main asset, providing at least 75%.

• Endur.fi will create an easy to use liquid staking token as well as dashboard for BTC staking and launch BTC LSTs for different flavours of BTCs (e.g. xWBTC for WBTC, xtBTC for tBTC, xLBTC for LBTC, etc.).

• Launching late Q3 to early Q4 2025

Endur is ready for Starknet’s BTCFi Summer

Bitcoin, the undisputed king of crypto, has long been a store of value. Its original design, however, meant that simply holding BTC offered no native way to earn yield. This posed a problem for those wanting more from their BTC without complex systems.

StarkWare is building a way to bring Bitcoin's value onto Starknet with a setup that minimizes trust (and trustless eventually). BTCfi helps Bitcoin holders put their BTC to use in decentralized finance, doing more than just holding it.

We at Endur.fi, are ready to leverage the new defi summer and will develop:

• BTC Liquid staked tokens (LSTs). These liquid staked tokens can be used on Defi on platforms such as Troves, Vesu, Ekubo, Nostra, etc.

• A dashboard for native staking BTC on Starknet.

Starknet is a powerful ZK-rollup. It uses advanced cryptographic proofs to provide scalability and low transaction fees, all while maintaining the robust security of Ethereum. Its growing DeFi system is a good fit for expanding Bitcoin's use.

How will Starknet integrate BTC in staking

Starknet’s SNIP-31 (Starknet Improvement Proposal) proposes Bitcoin staking using tokenised BTC wrappers on Starknet, letting BTC holders earn STRK rewards. BTC can comprise up to 25% of staking power, boosting Starknet’s security and DeFi composability. STRK rewards for BTC stakers are minted additionally—preserving STRK staker APR and protocol integrity. Supported wrappers and security protections (like entry delays and emergency delisting) are included. This enables BTC participation, unlocks its value, and expands Starknet’s staking ecosystem—all governed transparently and designed to keep STRK holders’ interests central.

You can use different Bitcoin wrappers like WBTC (BitGo), LBTC (Lombard), tBTC (Threshold network), SolvBTC, and PumpBTC. If you believe in Bitcoin and want it to be productive, BTCfi on Starknet is your opportunity.

How do you stake Bitcoin on a network like Starknet?

At Endur.fi, we've learned from xSTRK's success, the leading liquid staking token for STRK. We're now using that experience to help Bitcoin holders in the BTCfi space.

Liquid Staking:

You can easily liquid stake your BTC by heading to Endur.fi.

Key benefits with liquid staking:

1. Unlock liquidity: Stake and still access DeFi. e.g. use your BTC LSTs on lending platforms.

2. BTC-Based Rewards: Rewards are automatically converted to BTC

3. Faster Unstaking
   Withdrawals are quicker than (most times) native staking via automated deposit-withdrawal matching. Learn more.

4. Isolated risk: Each LST is tied to its BTC wrapper only — no contagion

5. Exceptional Support
   Real humans. Real help. Fast.

6. Dead-Simple UX
   You stake. We handle everything else — choosing validators, rewards, logistics.

Native staking:

Endur operates one the most powerful native staking dashboard for Starknet, which is data rich and also enables native stakers to stake, unstake, switch validators and track their portfolio. To make staking easy, we will support BTC as well on this dashboard.

Our goal is to make earning yield on your BTC simple for every defi user.

FAQs

1. Will I earn rewards in BTC? With native staking, rewards are paid in STRK. With Endur’s liquid staking, rewards are auto-converted to BTC wrappers and re-staked — enabling seamless auto-compounding in BTC. It's built to be simple and reliable — helping secure Starknet while letting your BTC earn yield.

2. Will Endur LST be supported from day 1 of BTC staking? Yes

3. Is Endur audited? Yes. Endur only deploys audited contracts to mainnet. All audit reports are publicly available here.

4. Is Endur open-source? Not yet. As of August 2025, Endur is not open-source. We plan to open the code once Starknet achieves full decentralisation, enabling final contract versions and multiple comprehensive audits. For latest information, check our github. If you have any concerns on this, please reach out to us on Telegram.

Final Notes

Bitcoin isn’t just a store of value — it’s a movement reshaping global finance. At Endur, we’re proud to build tools that help you unlock its full potential. Our mission is simple: maximize what your BTC can do, without compromising on trust or usability.

As the ecosystem matures, we’ll continue to evolve — always putting users first, and staying aligned with the decentralized future we all believe in.

Your BTC deserves more. Let it work harder.
Do more with your BTC — the Endur way.

If you're not aware, the Starknet Foundation has launched BTCFi Season, which will offer various opportunities to put your Bitcoin to work through Starknet. To prepare, you should move your BTC, which you've been holding, to Starknet right away!

This is a simple guide on bridging BTC (from Bitcoin) to wBTC to Starknet.

Here are the prerequisites for bridging Bitcoin (BTC) to Starknet:

1. Most obvious one - Have a Bitcoin wallet which is funded with BTC. Choice of wallets: Xverse, Phantom, Unisat and MagicEden.

2. Next, create a Starknet wallet. You can choose Ready or Braavos.

3. Now, choose any of the 3 websites mentioned below to swap. Layerswap supports sending BTC to a wallet address for swap if incase you don’t want to connect your wallet to the website.

   

4. Receive BTC in the form of wBTC. If you want, you can choose to swap BTC to ETH, STRK or any other token directly depending on each platform (we’ll mention this too below).

5. Done! If you want to swap some wBTC for gas, you do do it via Avnu, or Fibrous Finance.

Here are the 3 websites where you can bridge your BTC to Starknet:

Garden Finance

Garden is one of the fastest decentralized Bitcoin bridge built on an intents-based architecture.

We created a step by step guide in video and text format. Check it out!

https://youtu.be/KDPEfOTddiU

Here are the steps:

• Visit Garden: Go to the Garden Finance app - garden.finance.

• Select Assets and Amount: Choose BTC as the source asset on Bitcoin, and wBTC as destination asset on Starknet. Enter the amount to swap.

  

• Connect your Bitcoin and Starknet wallets.

• Hit "Swap" and sign the deposit transaction in your Bitcoin wallet.

• Wait for Completion: The process takes a few minutes. Your Starknet wallet will receive the equivalent amount of wBTC. You can visit the explorer to check for your transaction status.

  

Layerswap

LayerSwap is a fast, secure cross-chain bridge that enables seamless crypto transfers between centralized exchanges, blockchains, and Layer 2 networks with low fees and instant processing.

We created a step by step guide in video and text format. Check it out!

https://youtu.be/27QFfiPWAeQ

• Visit Layerswap: Go to layerswap.io.

• Configure Route: Select Bitcoin as source and Starknet as destination. Choose BTC as the source asset on Bitcoin, and wBTC as destination asset on Starknet. (Layerswap only supports BTC → wBTC swaps for now).

• Optionally, request a gas refuel if required. It’ll give you $0.5 ETH on your Starknet wallet.

• Connect your wallets and swap.

Atomiq Exchange

Atomiq Exchange is a trustless cross-chain DEX enabling zero-slippage atomic swaps between native Bitcoin (on-chain and Lightning Network) and assets on Starknet, secured by Bitcoin's proof-of-work for seamless, intermediary-free DeFi access.

We created a step by step guide in video and text format. Check it out!

https://youtu.be/KP2YIDhoSbo

• Visit Atomiq: Go to app.atomiq.exchange.

• Select Route: Change default route (i.e, BTC to Solana) to BTC → Starknet → WBTC.

  

• Connect Wallets: Link your Bitcoin wallet (e.g., Xverse) and Argent X.

• Enter Amount and Execute: Tick "Request gas drop" if needed, then swap and sign.

Once you’re on Starknet, you can do a lot of fun things like lend your wBTC and earn yield on it via Vesu or Nostra Finance.

And if you’re borrowing it against USDC, then you can spend it like cash with Ready Metal Card.

There are a ton of projects which you can explore on the ecosystem page, happy exploring :)

Six months of building, integrating with apps, and now over 10,000 accounts are liquid staking with xSTRK. None of this would have been possible without you - the stakers, the liquidity providers, and the early supporters. All of this was achieved without raising funds from VCs, but by bootstrapping and with support from the Starknet Foundation.

Today we introduce the Endur Points Program. A long-term reward system meant to recognize and support your commitment to Endur.

Whether you’ve been staking since the beginning or just started, this is your chance to take part by doing what you already do: hold and use xSTRK.

TLDR:

• Earn daily points by holding or LPing xSTRK.

• Early adopters (Nov 2024 - May 2025) and long-term holders earn multipliers.

• LPs earn extra points based on TVL and active range.

• Lending and borrowing xSTRK on money markets like Vesu and Nostra Finance do not have special bonus programs. However, they still earn base points and loyalty points, so you can keep lending.

• Referral system launching soon.

• Dashboard to check your points: https://endur.fi/leaderboard

%check-leaderboard

How It Works

The program calculates points based on your onchain activity:

Daily Points = xSTRK Held × Multiplier

The base multiplier is 1, this is what you earn by simply holding xSTRK in wallet or supported dApps

Example: if xSTRK held is 1000 and multiplier is 1x.

Then, 1000 x 1 = 1000 points / day.

These are the base points you earn, just by holding/using xSTRK. The more xSTRK you hold, the more points you get each day.

There are 3 types of bonus multipliers which can be applicable to you, and is mentioned further in the article.

You earn points daily by holding xSTRK in your wallet or in supported apps:

• Ekubo – https://ekubo.org

• Vesu – https://vesu.xyz

• Nostra Finance – https://nostra.finance

• STRKFarm – https://strkfarm.com

• Opus - https://opus.money

Eligible wallets: any wallet which supports Starknet.

We use your onchain activity to automatically assign points, so you don’t need to "claim" or "sign" anything. Each day, one snapshot of your holdings is taken at a random time to compute points.

Check out the dashboard: https://endur.fi/leaderboard

Bonus Points

Here’s a list of 3 bonus multipliers you can be eligible for:

1. Early adopters

For the first six months since launch, early adopters receive a bonus +0.2x multiplier on their daily points. That means:

Hold 100 xSTRK → Get 120 points per day

This early adopter bonus has been given to users from 26 November 2024 to 25 May 2025.

2. Loyalty Bonus

Starting 1 July 2025, a loyalty multiplier kicks in for long-term holders and users.

Every six months, you’ll earn a +0.1x boost on the minimum amount of xSTRK held during that period. This can be holding xSTRK in your wallet or using xSTRK across supported apps.

Example: You held 2500 xSTRK in July and 4000 xSTRK in September. On 25 November 2025, you unstaked 3000 xSTRK, leaving 1000 xSTRK in your wallet. Since the multiplier is based on the lowest amount held during the period:

0.1 × 1000 = 100 bonus points per day. So, you earn 18,000 points as bonus.

This is designed to reward consistent participation, not short-term snapshots. Therefore, this periodic bonus multiplier is applied every 6 months.

3. LP on DEXs (only on xSTRK-STRK pools)

If you’ve been providing liquidity on either Ekubo or Nostra Finance or STRKFarm’s CL vaults since 1 June 2025, you’re eligible for extra point multipliers based on the TVL of the xSTRK–STRK pool and STRK portion of your LP positions.

This multiplier is determined by TVL, and not by any fixed period or “duration” like the above 2 multipliers. The conditions are subject to change based on optimal liquidity requirements and STRK price.

Note: The system is designed to reward LPs who provide liquidity closer to the true market price—the closer, the better. In simple terms, points are given based on the STRK portion of the LP. This is because STRK plays a crucial role in absorbing sell pressure. Currently, LPs in these pools are missing out on xSTRK base points, even though they contribute significantly to the ecosystem. Hence, a special provision is made for them. Read the full scoring breakdown here: Scoring Framework.

A simpler breakdown is coming soon for those who prefer not to work through the math like our design intern.

To check the current TVL of the xSTRK–STRK pair:

• Ekubo - view TVL

• Nostra Finance - view TVL

Example:

You provided LP on Ekubo’s xSTRK/STRK in a 0.05% fee pool. xSTRK’s true price endur is 1.06, and you provided liquidity in the range of 1.055 to 1.056. The minimum price is 1.055. We use this to compare your position’s closeness to the true price. Your position holds 100 STRK and 110 xSTRK. So, your score per day as per the Scoring Framework is:

Score = STRKAMount (1 + 49 (Pmin / Ptrue) ^ 5)

=> 100 * (1 + (49 * (1.055/1.056) ^ 5)

=> 4885.51907735255

This Score is normalised to compute final points.

What Doesn’t Count for Multipliers and Points?

• Lending or borrowing xSTRK does not have special bonus points like that of LPs. However, holding xSTRK in lending will continue to earn base and loyalty points.

• Using xSTRK outside the 5 supported apps**

**Note: If you use xSTRK in unsupported apps, the smart contracts of those apps will receive the points, not individual users like you. Since these apps aren't natively integrated, the points remain with the contract. The respective apps are responsible for distributing these points to their users. Apps interested in passing points directly to users can contact us for native integration. We'll consider it based on the usage and integration complexity.

Right now, the focus is on holding or providing liquidity.

You can still lend xSTRK and earn around 3% supply APY on Vesu and Nostra Finance (money markets). However, they still earn base points, so you can keep lending. Optionally, you can convert DeFi Spring rewards (STRK) into xSTRK and re-supply them to lending pools to stack more points.

Referrals Coming Soon

A referral system is on the way. You’ll be able to earn points by bringing others into the ecosystem. It’s being finalized and will launch in the coming weeks.

What are points for?

Points track your involvement with Endur and xSTRK across the Starknet ecosystem. We’re not ready to share what they unlock yet!

Stay consistent. Stay active. We’re building for the long term, with you.

How to Start Earning Points

1. Stake STRK to mint xSTRK on Endur.fi

2. Hold xSTRK in your wallet or use it in supported apps

3. Earn points daily – calculated automatically based on your onchain activity

Three bonus multipliers to keep in mind:

Final Notes

This program is for the community that’s been supporting us since day one, and for those joining now with a long-term mindset.

Whether you’re holding or LPing xSTRK, you’re part of what makes Endur possible.

Referrals are on the way. The purpose of points will become clearer over time. For now, keep showing up. This is just version 1 of our points program.

We’re building this together.

~ Endur team

%check-leaderboard

Disclaimer: Despite the advantages of Liquid Staking, this process carries inherent risks common to DeFi, including smart contract vulnerabilities and other potential issues. Endur has undergone code audits which you can find here.

This article is not financial, legal, or tax advice. It is solely an opinion and should not be considered expert guidance. No particular outcome is guaranteed, and no inside knowledge is claimed. It is essential to conduct your own research and make informed decisions. This content is intended for informational purposes only.

Overview of Withdrawal Process:

When you initiate an unstake request (xSTRK to STRK), Endur's system can process it with 2 cases. These cases are designed to handle different withdrawal sizes and the availability of STRK in the system, optimizing for both speed and reliability. We’ve added GIFs so you can understand the flow!

%liquid-stake-w-us

Case 1: Leveraging Deposit contract (the best case)

TLDR: Instantly match new staking deposits to fulfill withdrawals, as it is highly efficient.

WIthdrawal Request Completion: 1-2 days OR a couple of hours.

• Your unstake request is processed (xSTRK → STRK).

• The system checks for pending withdrawals to batch process and examines the queue contract.

• When someone deposits STRK to convert to xSTRK, it is deposited into the deposit contract.

• The system verifies that there are sufficient deposits to cover your withdrawal, after which you receive your STRK back.

• Any extra STRK from the deposit contract is then staked.

Case 2: Native Unstaking (Large Withdrawals)

TLDR: For larger withdrawals, typically exceeding 100k xSTRK, or when deposit contract lack sufficient STRK balance, Endur utilizes native unstaking.

WIthdrawal Request Completion: ~21 days.

• You start an unstake request, which begins a 24-hour countdown.

• During this time, the system looks for new STRK deposits to fulfill the withdrawal.

• If there aren't enough deposits within the 24 hours, the system starts native unstaking of the needed STRK.

• Native unstaking on the Starknet mainnet takes 21 days.

• After 21 days, the STRK tokens go into your wallet.

Endur makes the standard native unstaking process easier by letting you complete it with a single click and receive STRK in your wallet (after 21 days). In native staking, this process involved two steps: unstaking and withdrawing funds.

Conclusion:

Endur is committed to providing a seamless and reliable staking experience for Starknet users. Our withdrawal process is designed to manage different situations, and we aim to provide clarity and efficiency, allowing you to stake with confidence. Click the below link to liquid stake with us!

%liquid-stake-w-us

In this article, we’ll try LST-pilling you with our best effort 🫡

Why Choose Liquid Staking Over Traditional Staking?

Staking STRK natively? You’re leaving liquidity—and DeFi opportunities—on the table. Seriously.

With Endur’s xSTRK, you don’t have to choose between staking rewards and staying liquid. Here’s why:

• Earn Staking Rewards: Grow your STRK passively, just like traditional staking.

• Stay Liquid: xSTRK keeps your assets unlocked for instant use.

• Multiply Opportunities: Deploy your staked STRK across DeFi while earning rewards.

No more trade-offs between defi and staking rewards!

xSTRK 101: The Liquid Staking Token

Think of xSTRK as Ethereum’s stETH or Solana’s mSOL. It’s an auto-compounding tokens on its own designed to simplify your staking passively:

• Auto-Reinvested Rewards: No more manual claiming of rewards—xSTRK grows in value as rewards are compound automatically.

• Value Appreciation: Hold xSTRK, watch its price rise against STRK over time.

• Zero Effort: Swap to xSTRK and even if you forget about it, you’ll still have the yields stream continuously.

Just hold xSTRK in your wallet, and you’re good to go. Not a financial advise!

Use xSTRK Everywhere

Don’t want your xSTRK sit idle? You can dive into Starknet’s DeFi ecosystem and double-dip on yields:

• Lend/Borrow: Use money markets like Vesu, Nostra Finance, or Opus Money.

• Trade Tokens: Swap on Ekubo, Fibrous Finance, Avnu or Nostra Finance.

• Provide Liquidity: Boost your yields as an LP with Nostra Finance or Ekubo. Read more on how you can LP on Ekubo!

• Farm More Rewards: STRKFarm’s xSTRK Sensei strategy is providing double digit APYs for now!

%use-xstrk-everywhere

How to Get Started (ps - it’s effortless)

1. Head to Endur.fi and stake your STRK.

2. Receive xSTRK instantly!

3. Deploy it in DeFi apps or hold for passive yields.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr4Nu3wiXX8

Also, if you need your STRK back then convert from xSTRK anytime—no lockups! 👇

Audited, Secure, and Built for Starknet

Endur’s contracts are audited by Cairo Security Clan and you can check the reports here.

Summary

xSTRK = Smarter Staking

• Earn rewards.

• Stay liquid.

• Dominate DeFi.

Why just hold STRK when you can hodl smarter? 🤔

%liquid-stake-w-us

This article is not financial, legal, or tax advice. It is solely an opinion and should not be considered expert guidance. No particular outcome is guaranteed, and no inside knowledge is claimed. It is essential to conduct your own research and make informed decisions. This content is intended for entertainment purposes only.

At the time of writing, xSTRK is offering an impressive APY of approximately 15% (You can see the current APY here). This yield is already attractive on its own, but when combined with additional yield opportunities available for xSTRK, it unlocks a diverse range of options for DeFi users to maximize their earnings. This blog talks about liquidity provision for xSTRK/STRK pool on Ekubo.

About Ekubo

Before diving into the guide, let’s take a moment to talk about the AMM we’ll be using to supply liquidity. Ekubo Protocol is a cutting-edge Automated Market Maker (AMM) designed for seamless token trading. With Ekubo pools, users can instantly exchange tokens—for example, selling xSTRK for STRK—without the need for an intermediary, making it an efficient and user-friendly platform for liquidity provision and token swaps.

Ekubo’s DeFi pools are also part of DeFi Spring's efforts to distribute 90M STRK tokens to the community to accelerate the development and adoption of DeFi apps in the Starknet ecosystem. Hence, liquidity providers who open a position on the pool with any of the designated pairs become eligible for a share of the 90M STRK tokens.

It's a treasure trove of earning opportunities on Starknet. And here's how to lock in

How to Provide Liquidity for xSTRK/STRK on Ekubo

To get started, you’ll need to pair xSTRK (Endur) with STRK. While xSTRK can be paired with other tokens, this particular pair is the most popular and considered low-risk. The low risk stems from the minimal price volatility between xSTRK and STRK, making this pool an attractive option for those seeking stable returns with reduced exposure to impermanent loss.

Your next step after choosing the xSTRK/STRK  pair is to:

1. Navigate the Ekubo interface here

2. Select a preferred pool (Concentrated or DCA-enabled)

3. Select fee tier [a]

4. Select price range to add position in [b]. More details on how to choose a price range is described below.

5. Specify the amount of liquidity to add [c]

6. Now, verify all the details and click Add liquidity

Great job! You've successfully provided liquidity with Endur (xSTRK) in six simple steps.

Deciding optimal price range to add liquidity

To set a range on Ekubo Protocol, you need to first define the price range that works for you. This ensures that your future trades will only be kept within that price range.

While your price range is a personal choice, you can set a lucrative but practical range to ensure you are in range most of the time. To compute this range, you first need to know the following information:

1. Current price of xSTRK with respect to STRK in Ekubo: As per above screenshot, its 1.01489 [d]

2. How frequently can you rebalance? Too frequent rebalances will cost you gas and you may have to pay withdrawal fee on ekubo each time you withdraw and add liquidity. However, the advantage is that you can stay in tight range earning maximum fee. Less frequent rebalances would mean you can add liquidity in wider range but probably earn less fees. For the purposes of this article, we assume 1 week as the rebalance time.

3. Estimated APY for the rebalance time: At present the APY is 15% and we would roughly assume it will be around 14% for the coming week at-least. You need not be perfect here, just approximate is enough. When in doubt, assume slightly less value.

So, we have the following variables:

1. curr_price: 1.01489 => Current price

2. rebalance_time: 604800 => (7 days in seconds)

3. estimated_apy: 0.14 => (We assume around 14% staking yield for the coming week)

What is estimated value of xSTRK in a week?
With the above yield information, xstrk price after a week can be calculated as:

$$xstrk_ new_ price = curr_ price \times \left(1 + \frac{estimated_ apy \times rebalance_ time}{365 \times 24 \times 60 \times 60}\right)$$

Based on above values,

$$xstrk_ new_ price = 1.01489 \times \left(1 + \frac{0.14 \times 604800}{365 \times 24 \times 60 \times 60}\right)$$

=> xstrk_new_price = 1.01761491014

This means that, xSTRK would probably trade around 1.0176 in a week. So, it makes sense to set min price slightly below current price and max price slightly above this new price. Based on these conditions, suggested price range can be:

1. Min price: 1.014

2. Max price: 1.018

With the said values above, the estimated APY is around 10%. Isn’t it great? Your net APY is about 21% now. (based on weighted average yield of xSTRK and STRK supplied)

Note: Remember to monitor your liquidity position regularly and rebalance it if it moves out of range. The calculations provided are subject to market conditions and may vary, so staying vigilant ensures you maximize your returns and maintain optimal performance in the pool.

Conclusion

Starknet ecosystem is known for its incredible work rate in the Layer 2 space. And opportunities like providing liquidity on Ekubo show that this work rate Is more about impact and progress than just ecosystem activity.

With Endur, we see a new meaning to the way active DeFi users on the network access and maximize value. And now, that you've learnt how to provide liquidity using Ekubo, the possibilities are endless.

Congrats, you’re now officially an LPeeer—welcome to the club liquidity providers 🎉

Our Vision for Value Distribution

At Endur, we believe that the success of any liquid staking protocol should directly translate to user benefits. The protocol charges a competitive 15% fee on staking rewards, which we believe represents a reasonable model for business operations. What sets us apart is our commitment to redistributing these fees back to our community in the early days.

How the Fee Redistribution Works

Our fee redistribution mechanism has been carefully designed to balance ecosystem growth with user rewards:

1. Fee Collection: The protocol collects a 15% commission on staking rewards. This means that if you earn rewards worth \(100, \)15 are redirected to the protocol treasury. Also, Endur charges 0% fees on deposits and withdrawals.

2. Strategic Distribution: A portion of these fees is allocated to our referral and priority partners. This strategic decision serves two crucial purposes:

   • Ensures robust liquidity for our LST, enhancing trading efficiency

   • Expands distribution channels, making Endur more accessible to users across Starknet

3. Community Returns: The remaining fees flow directly back to our users!

Redistribution Mechanism

The redistribution of fees to our community will be handled through manual distributions. We’re still deciding on how to manage this but we'll keep our community updated about the distribution schedule and process as soon as it’s decided.

Maximizing User Returns

We project that xSTRK holders will enjoy some of the highest returns in the liquid staking landscape on Starknet. When combined with DeFi yield opportunities, we expect returns to potentially surpass those of native staking.

Initial 6-Month Commitment

We're implementing this fee redistribution model for an initial period of six months. For Endur, we believe this is a way for us to signal our long term commitment in building the most efficient and rewarding staking experience on Starknet. We’re not here for short term gains!

We'll provide updates about future plans as we approach the end of this period. It’s a top priority for us to always keep our community informed!

Why Choose Endur?

1. High staking yields and UX: As mentioned, we expect Endur to have one of the highest yields in the LST space on Starknet (if not the highest). Apart from that, xSTRK gives you the ability to get quick liquidity for withdrawals instead of waiting for the traditional 21 day period in native staking.

2. Ecosystem Veterans: STRKFarm and Karnot, the teams behind Endur, are established key players in the Starknet ecosystem. Our top focus is on making Starknet a better place for everyone.

3. Strategic Partnerships: We're collaborating with top protocols on Starknet, with exciting partnership announcements coming soon.

4. Day One Readiness: Endur will be available immediately when Starknet staking goes live on November 26th, offering a seamless staking experience from day one.

5. Audited Contracts: Our contracts have undergone a rigorous audit process, ensuring the safety and reliability of our protocol. The audit reports will be made public before launch, demonstrating our commitment to transparency and security.

Looking Forward

As we prepare for launch, we're excited to demonstrate how a liquid staking protocol can operate in harmony with its users' interests. Our fee redistribution model isn't just a feature—it's a statement about our values and long-term vision for the future of liquid staking on Starknet.

Join us in building a more equitable liquid staking ecosystem, where protocol success directly translates to user benefits. Stay tuned for more updates as we approach our launch on November 26th.

For more information about Endur and our approach to liquid staking, follow us on Twitter and join our Telegram channel

Twitter → https://x.com/endurfi

Telegram → https://endur.fi/tg

Staking offers users the opportunity to earn rewards while contributing to the security and decentralisation of the network. However, staking STRK results in loss of liquidity which means when users stake their STRK natively, they have their tokens locked.

In other words, this means:

1. Locked STRK: Once you stake STRK natively, your tokens cannot be used for any other purpose.

2. Unstaking time: If you unstake then you face an automatic 21-day lockout period, during which no yield is accrued.

3. Opportunity Cost: Locked tokens mean you lose access to liquidity, limiting your ability to take advantage of other DeFi opportunities.

These limitations create a dilemma for users: stake for rewards or keep tokens liquid for other uses.

This is where Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) and Endur come in!

What is Endur?

Endur.Fi is a platform that introduces a trade-able Liquid Staking Token (LST) on Starknet called xSTRK. Endur is built together by STRKFarm and Karnot. It enables users to unlock the full potential of their staked STRK.

Bridging the gap between stakers and their liquidity, Endur establishes xSTRK as the go-to LST for anyone looking to enjoy the incoming STRK Staking event!

By converting STRK for xSTRK, users can:

1. Earn staking rewards without sacrificing access to liquidity.

2. Trade or use xSTRK in DeFi ecosystems, empowering them to maximize opportunities.

With xSTRK you can enjoy both rewards and liquidity!

With so many LSTs coming on Starknet, you must be wondering - why choose xSTRK? 🤔

Here are the reasons:

• Liquidity unlocked: Unlike native staking, xSTRK holders maintain control over their liquidity. Whether you want to trade or use your xSTRK as collateral, the choice is yours.

• No staking or redemption fees: With Endur, you do not pay any fees on your stake/redemption amount. However, we will be charging a performance fee on the rewards earned which will be shared between Node operators and LST (an interesting announcement coming soon 😉). So, your original stake is bound to increase.

• Improved unstaking duration: With Endur, you can un-stake significantly faster than native staking. Instead of the usual 21 days, your un-staking process is typically completed within 1–2 days under normal market conditions, though it may take longer (up to around 21 days) during periods of high unstake activity.

• Seamless integration: As the go-to LST on Starknet, xSTRK is designed for compatibility with the broader DeFi ecosystem, creating more opportunities for users.

• Built for the long term: The name “Endur” is inspired by “Endurance,” reflecting the platform’s commitment to building on Starknet for the long term

Extended Use Cases

• Borrow using xSTRK just like you would do using STRK on Vesu

• Unlocks high-yield strategies on STRKFarm using xSTRK

• Swap xSTRK for STRK on Ekubo

More integrations are coming soon…

Conclusion

Endur serves as an invaluable window of possibility when it comes to staking on Starknet. Not to mention the high chances of other utilities for the token such as integration with DeFi on Starknet.

See you on Endur on on 26th Nov, 2024, when staking goes live.

The roadmap to staking on Starknet has already been laid out. For now, locked tokens as well as StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation will not be eligible to participate in staking until a later period. Eligible participants, on the other hand, will be required to follow the provided criteria to enjoy rewards.

Before, we delve right into that, let's do a quick introduction of what Starknet staking is all about.

Starknet Staking

Staking on Starknet means locking up STRK tokens in the staking protocol to help improve the network and keep it safe. According to the staking protocol, anyone holding STRK can stake their tokens directly or delegate them, earning rewards based on their level of participation.

In this first phase, validators must stake a minimum of 20,000 STRK tokens and operate a full node, preparing for future phases that will bring additional responsibilities for network upkeep and security.

Other relevant details of Starknet's staking protocol are as follows:

• Staking Rewards: Staking rewards will be based on the amount staked and the commission policy set by the validator

• Minting Curve: The minting curve will modify rewards according to total STRK locked in the staking protocol. The curve will be implemented to strike a balance between inflation and participation. Yearly inflation cap is currently set at 1.6%. Generally speaking, this is low inflation and good target to have.

  

• Withdrawal Security Lock Up: When you unstake, you will have to wait for 21 days to get your STRK.

With endur.fi’s xSTRK, our platform is optimized to minimize unstaking time, providing a smooth user experience. In most cases, you can instantly swap xSTRK for STRK on Ekubo (coming soon). Alternatively, if you want to avoid slippage, you can request an unstake and receive STRK within just 1-2 days

• Commission Policy (CP) Parameter: will be fixed by validation zero to one. This parameter determines how much portion of fees will the validator charge on the rewards.

Liquidity Staking

Now while the prospect of staking on Starknet is exciting for the community, there's one tiny detail to consider here, however. It's that even with rewards in view, STRK holders can't earn yields without losing liquidity.

This is where liquidity staking comes in.

The vehicle for this solution is Endur, a liquid staking token (xSTRK) that represents endurance and long term commitment to Starknet.

Conventional staking processes as we know it have some limitations:

• Reduced Liquidity: Traditional staking locks up user funds, restricting access to liquidity and flexibility.

• No Access to DeFi Without Liquid Staking: Without liquid staking options, users cannot use STRK tokens in DeFi applications while staked.

• 21-Day Unstaking Period: Unstaking STRK means your tokens will be locked for 21 days. During this period:

  • Zero Yields: You will earn no yield on your unstaked tokens.

  • No Token Access: Funds remain inaccessible, reducing your liquidity and options in the DeFi ecosystem.

Endur’s xSTRK to allow users to enjoy both rewards and liquidity. It will be trade-able while serving as the perfect representation of staked STRK. It's a win-win situation here.

With Endur, staking becomes more flexible and profitable, unlocking new use cases for xSTRK that let you experience DeFi as it was meant to be with native STRK.

Did you know? Endur’s smart contracts will be audited and ready for Staking launch. (Audit document: coming soon)

Disclaimer: Despite the advantages of Liquid Staking, this process carries inherent risks common to DeFi, including smart contract vulnerabilities and other potential issues.

Conclusion

The introduction of staking to the ecosystem is a big step towards decentralisation for Starknet and they're just getting started. In the future, this Layer 2 solution will also see stakers taking on more responsibility at a gradual pace for efficiency.

Fun fact: What’s the meaning of Endur?

Our LST (xSTRK) represents Endurance, as a testament to enduring commitment of Karnot and STRKFarm to Starknet— rooted in past innovations and built to last far into the future, offering secure staking for the journey ahead

Why Liquid Staking Matters

Staking is critical for securing decentralized networks like Starknet, yet traditional staking methods have a drawback: they lock up user funds, limiting liquidity. For example, without Liquid Staking, unstaking your STRK would lock it up for 21 days, during which you couldn’t use your STRK or earn any yield. Liquid staking solves this problem by allowing stakers to receive a tradable token called Liquid Staking Token (LST) that represents their staked assets, giving them access to liquidity while their tokens are staked.

By introducing a liquid staking option for STRK, we are providing users with the best of both worlds—staked rewards and liquidity. Our LST token not only empowers STRK holders to participate in staking but also opens up new possibilities for using these tokens across decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on Starknet.

Why collaborate Karnot?

Karnot is a pioneering builder on Starknet, specializing in app-chain solutions for clients like Kakarot and Pragma. With a team rooted in integrity and commitment to the Starknet ecosystem, Karnot is an ideal partner for projects involving DeFi and infrastructure maintenance, such as validator nodes. As we focus on the DeFi side for our LST, Karnot’s expertise in infrastructure makes them the perfect collaborator.

Why stake with us?

1. Security: Our contracts will be fully audited and be ready for launch by Nov 26th

2. Defi expertise: The STRKFarm team brings deep expertise in DeFi, demonstrated by advanced solutions like Sensei strategies. We’re committed to delivering technically sophisticated offerings to simply DeFi for everyone, especially within our LST, to maximize value for our users.

3. Top-Class Infrastructure: Leveraging Karnot’s infrastructure expertise, we ensure that our validators operate in a highly secure and reliable environment.

4. Integrity: With a long-standing presence on Starknet, both Karnot and the STRKFarm team are deeply committed to the network’s growth and success, always prioritizing what’s best for the Starknet ecosystem.

When are we launching?

Staking with us will be available from day 1 of Starknet staking launch, which is expected to be announced soon

That's a wrap! Stay tuned for more exciting updates in the days ahead—we can't wait to have you join us in staking from day one.

Join this Telegram group for latest updates.