SLPx 2.0 and vETH 3.0: Redefining Multi-Chain Liquid Staking Infrastructure

As crypto staking expands beyond single-chain ecosystems, liquidity, composability, and capital efficiency have become the defining challenges of the next cycle. With the release of vETH 3.0, Bifrost introduces SLPx 2.0 — a next-generation liquidity infrastructure designed to standardize multi-chain liquid staking at scale.

This upgrade represents a fundamental evolution from SLPx 1.0, delivering instant minting and redemption, near-zero cross-chain costs, native DeFi compatibility, and a scalable architecture built for a multi-chain future.

What Is vETH 3.0?

vETH is Bifrost’s liquid staking derivative (LST) for ETH, enabling users to earn staking yield while maintaining full liquidity across multiple blockchains.

The vETH 3.0 upgrade introduces several major enhancements:

Native liquid staking across Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polkadot, and more — without manual bridging

ERC-4626 compliant, enabling permissionless integration with major DeFi protocols

Secured by Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) via SSV Network, ensuring decentralized validator operations

Base APY around 3.5%, outperforming most ETH LSTs including stETH

Fully powered by the new SLPx 2.0 architecture

At its core, vETH 3.0 is not just a product upgrade — it is a demonstration of what modern liquid staking infrastructure should look like.

Understanding SLPx: The Backbone of Liquid Staking Liquidity

SLPx is Bifrost’s core protocol for minting and redeeming Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) across multiple chains while preserving yield, liquidity, and composability.

In practical terms, SLPx allows users to:

Stake native assets

Receive yield-bearing vTokens

Use those tokens freely across DeFi ecosystems on different chains

SLPx transforms traditionally locked staking capital into active, cross-chain collateral, unlocking a new level of capital efficiency for both users and protocols.

Why SLPx 2.0 Was Necessary

As multi-chain deployments became the industry standard, SLPx 1.0 began to show structural limitations:

Users had to wait for cross-chain confirmation before receiving vTokens

Redemptions required long settlement times and expensive bridge interactions

Lack of standardized interfaces limited integration with DeFi protocols like Aave or Balancer

Cross-chain operations scaled poorly as more networks were added

SLPx 2.0 addresses these challenges at the architectural level.

What Makes SLPx 2.0 Different?

SLPx 2.0 introduces two foundational innovations:

ERC-4626 Vault Standard

Async Pool Architecture

Together, they decouple user-facing actions from underlying cross-chain operations — delivering a faster, cheaper, and more scalable staking experience.

Key Advantages of SLPx 2.0

1. Instant Minting and Redemption

Users receive vTokens immediately after staking, without waiting for cross-chain settlement.

Redemptions are handled through an automated async queue, settled in batches — reducing latency from minutes to seconds while preserving capital efficiency.

2. Near-Zero Cross-Chain Fees

By batching cross-chain operations instead of executing them per transaction, SLPx 2.0 dramatically reduces costs.

What previously required standard bridge fees is now achieved with minimal or near-zero cross-chain overhead, making frequent or small transactions economically viable.

3. Native DeFi Compatibility via ERC-4626

All vTokens issued under SLPx 2.0 are ERC-4626 compliant, making them:

Plug-and-play with lending protocols

Compatible with yield aggregators

Easily integrated into DEXs, vaults, and structured products

No custom adapters. No permissioned integrations.

4. Scalable Multi-Chain Liquidity Management

Instead of tracking user-level balances across chains, SLPx 2.0 manages chain-level unified liquidity pools.

This design:

Reduces system complexity

Improves operational efficiency

Enables faster expansion to new L1s and L2s

5. Eventual Consistency for Better UX

SLPx 2.0 transitions exchange rate synchronization from:

Strict real-time consistency

to

Eventual consistency via XCM Oracle

While this may introduce brief exchange-rate discrepancies, it significantly improves UX, lowers costs, and enhances system resilience — a trade-off optimized for real-world usage at scale.

Dual Architecture: Stability Meets Innovation

SLPx 2.0 will power all future liquid staking products on Bifrost.

However, SLPx 1.0 remains fully operational, serving use cases that require:

Commission Channel support

Full on-chain traceability

Legacy integration compatibility

This dual-track approach ensures both forward innovation and backward compatibility.

The Road Ahead: Toward a Standardized Liquid Staking Layer

Looking forward, SLPx 2.0 will integrate deeply with HyperBridge, expanding support across more L1 and L2 ecosystems.

The long-term vision is clear:

Modular liquid staking

Standardized cross-chain liquidity

Seamless DeFi composability

Capital-efficient staking at global scale

vETH 3.0: Your Entry Point to the Future of Liquid Staking

Whether you are:

An ETH holder seeking higher yields and better liquidity

A DeFi builder looking for standardized LST infrastructure

Or a protocol integrating next-generation staking primitives

vETH 3.0 and SLPx 2.0 provide the foundation for the next era of cross-chain DeFi.

Liquid staking is evolving — and this is what the future looks like.