🪙 LST Creator

The LST Creator allows validators on the approved list to create their own Liquid Staking Token (LST), leveraging the deep liquidity and trust of vSOL. This provides validators with a powerful tool to attract stake and integrate into DeFi ecosystems without requiring additional management.

How It Works

The LST Creator enables validators to mint a unique LST that is wrapped from vSOL (Figure 16.1). This ensures that every validator's LST benefits from:

• The liquidity of vSOL.
• The same APY as vSOL, independent of individual validator settings.
• Deep DeFi integration opportunities without requiring separate stake pools.

Figure 16.1: How validator LSTs work

Requirements for Validators

To apply for an LST, validators must:

• Be in our stake pool.
• Be on the approved list.
• Submit the LST Creator application form.

Differences from Other LSTs

Unlike other LST solutions, which require separate stake pools and liquidity management:

• Our LSTs share in vSOL's deep liquidity.
• No additional validator management is required: validators simply promote their LST to attract stake.
• Official stake pool program compatibility ensures seamless DeFi integrations.
• Instant conversions back to vSOL without slippage through The Vault's dApp.

Liquidity and Unstaking

LSTs minted through the LST Creator are SPL tokens, meaning they can have their own liquidity pairs on platforms like Jupiter.

• The unstaker allows instant conversions of LSTs back to vSOL, making redemption seamless.
• When unstaking an LST, it is first converted to vSOL, which is then unstaked under the hood.

Fees and Rewards

Validators benefit financially from running an LST (Figure 16.2):

• A 0.1% unstaking fee applies when an LST is converted back to vSOL.
• Fee split: 50% goes to The Vault, and 50% goes to the validator operator.
• On Jupiter and other DEXs, these LSTs will have their own liquidity pairs with no additional fees.
• Swaps from the LST back to vSOL will follow the same fee structure.

Figure 16.2: How LST redemption works

DeFi Integration

Validators can integrate their LST into various DeFi platforms, allowing users to:

• Use their LSTs in liquidity pools.
• Stake LSTs in yield farms.
• Trade LSTs on DEXs for further exposure and adoption.

Audit

The first round of audits is complete and has been audited by accretion.xyz. The audit report can be found on GitHub. The second round of audits will be public once completed.

Conclusion

The LST Creator provides a turnkey solution for validators to create and promote their own liquid staking token. By leveraging vSOL, validators gain access to deep liquidity, DeFi integrations, and financial incentives without the complexity of managing a separate stake pool.