In the era of DeFi 3.0, cross-chain liquidity is the core narrative, and StakeStone's layout is highly forward-looking.

Author: Ice Frog

In the crypto world, liquidity determines everything. Without sufficient liquidity, even the best DeFi is just "stagnant water," unable to truly realize its value. As the public chain ecosystem continues to expand, the fragmentation of liquidity between chains has become the biggest obstacle to industry development.

StakeStone precisely targets this industry pain point, attempting to become the "UnionPay + Alipay" of the crypto world, building a cross-chain liquidity infrastructure that allows funds to flow freely between different public chains, bidding farewell to the fragmented, inefficient, and competitive liquidity dilemma.

It can be said that StakeStone is trying to build the financial infrastructure of the DeFi 3.0 era, allowing the entire blockchain industry to say goodbye to meaningless liquidity battles and truly enter a new era of free capital flow.

Below, I will try to provide an analysis of this project in the simplest language:

I. StakeStone's Positioning: The Breakthrough of Cross-Chain Liquidity Infrastructure

1.1 Pain Points and Solutions

Industry Pain Points:

Liquidity fragmentation, single yield, varying returns between old and new public chains.

Currently, transferring money across blockchain requires complex operations and high fees, while cross-chain technology serves as a bridge to connect these islands, allowing money to flow freely, using whichever chain one prefers.

From the perspective of cross-chain liquidity, there are currently: fragmented cross-chain liquidity (e.g., BTC's difficulty in participating in DeFi), single yield strategies (token incentives lack practicality and sustainability), and the cold start difficulties of emerging chains. More simply, the main issues are as follows:

1⃣ Money is "stuck" on one chain and cannot move. For example, Bitcoin can only sit on the Bitcoin chain, while ETH can only be used in DeFi on the Ethereum chain.

2⃣ New chains have no users, while old chains are too crowded. For instance, when a new public chain is launched, no one deposits money, while old chains (like Ethereum) overflow with funds but offer low yields.

3⃣ Yields are hard to sustain. Many projects attract users with high token rewards, but once the token issuance stops, funds are immediately withdrawn.

StakeStone's Solution: Three Core Products to Solve Cross-Chain Liquidity Distribution

1⃣ STONE (Yield-Earning ETH): Aggregates multi-chain ETH liquidity and dynamically optimizes yield strategies.

2⃣ SBTC/STONEBTC (Cross-Chain BTC and Yield-Earning BTC): Unifies BTC liquidity pools to activate BTC's DeFi value.

3⃣ LiquidityPad: Connects Ethereum with emerging chains for two-way value capture.

1.2 Unique Aspects of StakeStone's Solution

To clarify the unique aspects of StakeStone's solution, one can use the metaphor of a "UnionPay + Alipay" composite in the crypto world.

1⃣ Alipay-Level Experience

STONE: Like the Yu'e Bao in Alipay, storing ETH automatically earns interest and allows for cross-chain spending at any time.

SBTC: Like a "digital gold credit card," BTC can also earn yields and be used everywhere.

2⃣ UnionPay-Level Network

LiquidityPad can connect liquidity pools across all chains, allowing new chains to quickly "attract investment" and old chain funds to "support rural development."

With the enhancement of the above products and experiences, users can essentially manage all their funds across chains with one account, earning yields passively; additionally, Bitcoin can become a yield-earning asset.

For the industry, on one hand, it accelerates the cold start of new chains, attracting funds with real yields; on the other hand, it ends the liquidity civil war and internal friction, allowing money to flow freely across chains, using whichever chain is most effective.

For the current crypto circle, liquidity is the lifeblood of all products; stagnant money is dead money. Essentially, StakeStone's cross-chain liquidity protocol does three main things:

Fix liquidity pipelines, allowing asset pools across all chains to connect seamlessly; create liquidity pumps, automatically directing funds to chains with higher yields (like new chains); and unify standards, allowing assets from different chains to flow under a single standard. This enables smooth transactions between blockchains. Ordinary users can earn yields effortlessly, and the industry can completely say goodbye to fragmentation and internal strife, which is the true value of the cross-chain liquidity narrative.

II. Dual Token Model Analysis: One for Work, One for Dividends

StakeStone recently released its protocol white paper and has innovatively adopted a dual-token model (sto and vesto).

This dual-token model is worth analyzing in depth, as it reflects the project's intention to address the current casino model of DeFi and transform it into a partnership model, which may indicate the project's long-term strategic ambitions.

As shown in the image, the dual tokens, STO and veSTO, have a conversion mechanism but serve different functions:

1⃣ STO: The Working Token

Main functions include: governance voting, where holding STO allows users to vote on the project's development direction (e.g., which chain to prioritize). Reward distribution, where the project uses STO to reward users who provide liquidity (e.g., those who deposit ETH to earn interest). Fee collection, where the platform takes a cut from each transaction and distributes it to STO holders.

Additionally, it is worth noting that although STO serves as a working governance token, it has an in-built deflationary mechanism; other projects wishing to use StakeStone's liquidity must buy and burn STO.

2⃣ veSTO: The Dividend Token

This token is primarily obtained by locking STO (similar to a fixed deposit) to exchange for veSTO. Holding veSTO automatically grants three privileges: more voting power, allowing holders to decide which pool receives STO rewards; more holding benefits, where veSTO holders double their earnings when depositing for interest; and more opportunities for bonuses, as other projects may offer "bribe money" (e.g., direct ETH distributions) to attract funds.

Furthermore, to prevent immediate exit after holding, veSTO has a 30-day unlocking period to prevent large holders from crashing the market.

This dual-token model may seem simple, but its overall design is fundamentally aimed at addressing current industry pain points.

1⃣ Previously, users would often cash out immediately after earning tokens, leading to continuous price drops; now, through veSTO locking, users are indirectly encouraged to shift from speculation to long-term holding, earning more requires locking in, reducing speculation.

2⃣ Previously, projects would spend excessively to quickly cold start, but the pools had no users; now, veSTO holders decide where the funds flow, meaning the community dictates the movement of money.

3⃣ Previously, project tokens were issued without limit, and some malicious project teams would issue them arbitrarily; now, if other projects want to use StakeStone's liquidity? They must first buy and burn STO! The more people use it, the scarcer STO becomes.

From the above token design, it is clear that the project intends to create a community of shared interests between users and the project team through the clever design of the token model— the longer you participate, the more you earn, and you also have a say in governance.

III. Valuation and Yield Potential: Points, Airdrops, and Ecological Dividends

3.1 Project Valuation Analysis

From the perspective of track valuation comparison, leading projects in the liquidity staking protocol space, such as EtherFi (FDV $820 million) and Puffer (FDV $250 million), generally fall within the $200 million to $800 million range, while StakeStone's expected valuation (FDV $500 million to $1 billion) is overall higher than similar projects. This premium logic stems from three core supports:

1⃣ Scarcity Premium of Cross-Chain Positioning

StakeStone is not a traditional single-chain staking protocol but the first protocol to propose a cross-chain liquidity infrastructure positioning. Compared to vertically segmented projects like Renzo and Puffer, its business logic covers three major scenarios: ETH staking, BTC yield-earning assets, and cross-chain liquidity aggregation, effectively targeting the LRT, BTC-Fi, and cross-chain bridge sectors simultaneously.

In horizontal comparison, LayerZero (a cross-chain interoperability protocol, valued at $3 billion) focuses on optimizing capital efficiency through a differentiated path, further enhancing its valuation imagination.

2⃣ Fundamental Strength Driven by TVL

As of now, StakeStone's total staked assets (TVL) on-chain have surpassed $700 million. High liquidity indicates high market recognition; sufficient liquidity often leads to higher valuations.

Notably, due to its dual-token model, it can bring significant yield multiplier effects: protocol fees and bribe income are directly linked to TVL, forming a "revenue growth - ecological expansion - TVL increase" flywheel.

3⃣ Strategic Depth of Ecological Linkage

Through the LiquidityPad product, StakeStone has established deep collaborations with top ecosystems like Plume (raised $10 million) and Story Protocol, providing initial on-chain liquidity.

This role as a "liquidity infrastructure supplier" brings threefold benefits: fees paid by partner projects directly enhance protocol income; each new chain integrated allows StakeStone to capture incremental users and assets from that chain.

In summary, StakeStone's valuation logic should transcend single-track comparisons; its positioning as a cross-chain liquidity hub, high TVL monetization capability, and the snowball effect of ecological expansion collectively form a strong support for a $500 million to $1 billion FDV.

3.2 Project Participation Yield Analysis

The project has clarified the airdrop ratio, with 3% of the total supply of the Wave1 reward pool for the cross-chain carnival event's first phase, and 1.5% airdrop for the Berachain Vault activity. Due to the relatively small proportion of BTC, the following calculations are based solely on the average ETH staking amount.

1）Wave1

Activity Duration: March 26, 2024 - February 28, 2025 (approximately 340 days)

Staking Situation: First 3 days: 342,000, 275,000, 259,000 ETH; thereafter: ≈ 150,000 ETH

Points Calculation: Points for the first 3 days: approximately 2,102,400 points; remaining 337 days points, taking an average of about: 150,000 × 24 = 3,600,000, 3,600,000 × 337 = 1,213,200,000

Total Points for the First Phase: 1,215,302,400

Value per Point:

Minimum: $15 million ÷ 1,215,302,400 ≈ $0.0123/point

Maximum: $30 million ÷ 1,215,302,400 ≈ $0.0247/point

2）Berachain Vault

Activity Duration: December 26, 2024 - February 28, 2025 (approximately 65 days) Average staking amount for the entire phase: ≈ 150,000 ETH

Points Calculation: Daily points: 150,000 × 24 = 3,600,000, Total points: 3,600,000 × 65 = 234,000,000

Value per Point:

Minimum: $7.5 million ÷ 234,000,000 ≈ $0.032/point

Maximum: $15 million ÷ 234,000,000 ≈ $0.064/point

The above calculations indicate that the value of points at different stages is around $0.0123 to $0.064 per point, not including the point bonus coefficient. You can refer to your own point quantity for comparison. Other points include referral points and some boosts, which are not calculated at this time.

Due to the use of average value calculations and the high uncertainty of data, the prices are for reference only. Based on feedback from the official team, there may be considerations to increase the Wave1 share, with specifics to be announced.

IV. Conclusion

StakeStone recently announced two major updates: the snapshot and the dual-token model were launched simultaneously, further solidifying its position as a cross-chain liquidity hub and optimizing the token economic model to enhance sustainability.

In the DeFi 3.0 era, cross-chain liquidity is the core narrative, and StakeStone's layout is highly forward-looking:

Free flow of funds: Allowing BTC, ETH, and assets from various public chains to break ecological barriers and achieve efficient cross-chain movement.

Upgraded yield model: Through the veSTO mechanism, binding users to the protocol's long-term yields, reducing short-term speculation.

Overall industry efficiency improvement: Ending the "mine, withdraw, sell" model, guiding liquidity from competition to collaboration, and enhancing capital utilization.

For the industry, the project provides a feasible path from liquidity internal friction to value creation. In the liquidity-driven DeFi world, StakeStone is building the core financial infrastructure of the crypto industry.

If successfully implemented, this will not only be a victory for the protocol but also an important step towards the maturity of the entire industry.

Special Note: The various calculations in this article are based on publicly available information and reasonable assumptions, and should not be considered investment advice. Please make your own decisions and participate at your discretion!

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