sTez and Liquid Staking

Status: Testing

sTez is the protocol-native liquid staking asset being developed for Tezos.

It is designed to allow tez to participate in staking while remaining represented by a transferable asset that can be used throughout the Tezos economy.

For TEZEX, sTez represents an important future liquidity primitive.

What Is Liquid Staking?

Staking allows native assets to participate in network security and earn staking rewards.

Liquid staking allows that economic position to remain usable.

A user stakes the native asset and receives a transferable token representing the staked position. That liquid staking token can then participate in markets, DeFi applications, collateral systems, and other financial activity.

This allows capital contributing to network security to remain economically active elsewhere.

What Makes sTez Distinctive

sTez is designed as an enshrined liquid staking mechanism implemented at the Tezos protocol level.

Users deposit tez and receive transferable sTez. The underlying staking activity is coordinated through the protocol, and the rules governing the mechanism can evolve through Tezos governance.

sTez uses an exchange-rate model. Staking rewards increase the amount of tez represented by each sTez over time rather than continually changing the holder's token balance.

This creates a protocol-native, yield-bearing Tezos asset designed for integration throughout the ecosystem.

Deep XTZ / sTez Liquidity

For sTez to become broadly useful, it needs a liquid secondary market.

A deep XTZ / sTez market can provide:

• immediate liquidity between liquid and staked tez exposure;
• continuous price discovery;
• arbitrage around the protocol exchange rate;
• easier entry and exit;
• stronger foundations for lending and collateral use;
• and routing into the wider Tezos market.

This can transform sTez from a staking instrument into a broader financial primitive.

As liquidity develops, sTez can become useful in trading, lending, leverage, structured products, and other financial applications throughout Tezos.