WTF are LSTs?

WTF are LSTs?

1. First: What is staking?

On Proof-of-Stake networks, you lock your tokens to help secure the chain and, in return, earn rewards.

Simple.

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But there’s a catch:

• Your tokens are locked

• You can’t trade them

• You can’t use them in DeFi

• Unstaking may take days or weeks

So you earn yield… but your capital is frozen.

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2. Enter: Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs)

A Liquid Staking Token (LST) is a token you receive when you stake your assets through a protocol.

Instead of locking your tokens and walking away, you:

1. Deposit your tokens into a staking protocol

2. The protocol stakes them for you

3. You receive a liquid receipt token (the LST)

4. Your LST represents your staked position + rewards

Now you can:

• Trade it

• Use it as collateral

• LP it

• Loop it

• Build on top of it

All while still earning staking yield.

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3. Why LSTs Exist

LSTs unlock capital efficiency.

Without LST:

Stake → wait → earn

With LST:

Stake → earn → deploy capital elsewhere

This is why LSTs became foundational in DeFi ecosystems.

Examples you may know:

• Lido on Ethereum

• Rocket Pool

• Jito on Solana

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What is Endur?

Endur is a Liquid Staking protocol built on Starknet.**

It allows users to stake STRK and/or BTC while staying liquid.

When you stake STRK/BTC via Endur:

• Your STRK/BTC is delegated to validators

• You receive an LST in return (e.g. xSTRK, xWBTC, etc.)

• That LST accrues staking rewards over time

• You remain liquid inside the Starknet ecosystem

Endur is designed for:

• Native staking participation

• Composability inside Starknet DeFi

• Sustainable validator delegation

• Long-term alignment with the ecosystem

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How Endur LSTs Work

Step 1 — Deposit STRK/BTC

You deposit STRK/BTC into the Endur vault.

Step 2 — Receive LST

You receive Endur’s LST in return. LSTs are tokens (e.g. xSTRK, xWBTC, etc.)

This token:

• Represents your share of the pooled stake

• Increases in value as rewards accumulate

• Can be transferred or used in DeFi

Step 3 — Rewards Accrue

Staking rewards flow back into the pool, increasing the backing per LST.

You don’t need to manually claim — value compounds automatically.

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What Makes Endur Different?

While LSTs are a known primitive, Endur focuses on:

1. Starknet-native architecture

Built with Cairo contracts designed specifically for Starknet.

2. Validator distribution strategy

Capital is distributed across multiple validators to reduce concentration risk.

3. Withdrawal queue design

Unstaking follows Starknet’s native unbonding period, handled via a structured queue mechanism.

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Risks You Should Understand

LSTs are powerful — but not risk-free.

• Though Audited, Smart contract risk can still exist

• Liquidity risk (secondary market depth)