RockX is thrilled to announce Bedrock, their proprietary liquid staking protocol that aims to strike the perfect balance between CeFi and DeFi. RockX believes in decentralisation. Amid the ever-tightening regulatory landscape, RockX believes that decentralised protocols need to be more transparent and compliant than ever before.
The desire to allow institutions to be able to reap the benefits of a crypto-native yield without compromising regulatory compliance while simultaneously giving retail users the anonymity they desire through DeFi resulted in Bedrock, a liquid staking protocol that we believe will change the game for everyone.
What is Bedrock?
Bedrock is a liquid staking protocol that offers a fully compliant, secure, and transparent staking experience. It is a DeFi-native solution that is built on a smart contract. This way, it bridges the gap between traditional finance and decentralised finance by striking the perfect balance between the two. Bedrock allows institutional clients and individual stakers to enjoy the freedom and flexibility of decentralised finance.
The Bedrock Difference
To achieve the aforementioned goals, Bedrock was strictly built upon three strong principles: security, transparency, and compliance. With those three pillars to guide the development of Bedrock, RockX has built a new kind of liquid staking protocol that will transform the liquid staking industry.
RockX has been working in the background with SSV.network on secret shared validator (SSV) technology. This essentially breaks down secret keys among a set of non-trusting validators, thereby greatly enhancing security and increasing decentralisation. To clarify, this is not yet ready and will be deployed at a later stage, but Bedrock’s protocol has been created to be fully compatible with this security system. Bedrock also employs a hybrid cloud architecture and runs an around-the-clock monitoring system to avoid any single point of failure.
In addition, Bedrock’s protocol has also been audited by Peckshield, a leading audit firm in the industry. Anyone may read the audit report online. Bedrock’s smart contract is also open-source and available for anyone to view and scrutinise.
Shanghai Upgrade Ready
Prepared for the much anticipated Shanghai upgrade on Ethereum, Bedrock has ETH unstaking withdrawals built into its protocol, so it is ready whenever the upgrade is. Unstaking will be as easy as clicking a button, making Bedrock accessible to anyone.
The Universal Liquid Staking Token (uniETH)
To start, Bedrock will be supporting ETH liquid staking only. Users may stake ETH tokens in exchange for the representative token, universal ETH, or uniETH. It is a DeFi-native token that allows maximum capital efficiency on assets, as it earns a high yield. The price of uniETH will continuously increase as time goes on and it accrues ETH staking rewards. The vision for uniETH, then, is for it to be the stablecoin of ETH with yield accrued – only ever going up.
The current market is seeing copious quantities of ETH leaving centralised exchanges (CEXs) for DeFi protocols, where users may continue to compound their capital yield. However, with the uncertain regulatory environment that we’re seeing today, there is a marked keenness in reputable, centralised exchanges, especially among larger stakeholders such as institutions. As a result, the industry is at a crossroads, unable to move between the desire for greater capital efficiency and the need for regulatory compliance. uniETH intends to be the solution to this standstill.
Introducing a fully transparent, on-chain verifiable supply and compatibility with DeFi and other centralised exchanges, uniETH seamlessly integrates regulation compliance with the innovation of DeFi.
uniETH is a non-rebasing reward-bearing token that does not grow in quantity over time, but instead grows in value. This means that eventually, 1 uniETH will be worth more than 1 ETH, and that value will continue to appreciate as time goes. To understand uniETH in greater detail, refer to the uniETH page or read the comprehensive white paper.
The Road Ahead (Yes, A Roadmap)
Having introduced Bedrock, a protocol that RockX hopes will bridge the gap between traditional finance and the world of decentralised finance, RockX invites you to partake in this excitement. Bedrock’s roadmap is designed to go through a series of milestones that will not only solidify Bedrock’s position in the market but also pave the way for the eventual creation of a DAO.
Phase 1 – Bedrock Launch with Successful Withdrawal
Bedrock liquid staking protocol is launched with successful withdrawal from the Ethereum network. Bedrock is built to be fully compatible with the upcoming Shapella upgrade, allowing users to withdraw their staked ETH with ease without having to be concerned about liquidity.
This is the current state of things, with Bedrock being managed by RockX. As a new protocol, RockX’s lead will ensure that any initial bumps are smoothed out and teething pains are soothed before expanding from ETH liquid to liquid staking on other blockchain networks.
Phase 2 – Bedrock DAO
As a proponent of the decentralised future, the eventual plan is for Bedrock to be spun off and taken care of by its community as a DAO. This DAO will be a community-driven organisation that will empower stakeholders to take control of the protocol and drive its future development. A possible governance token will be implemented at this stage, and treasury will be managed by the DAO. RockX invites you to join us on this journey to work towards a more decentralised and equitable future for finance.
Phase 3 – Incorporation of DVT
This phase will further push decentralisation on Bedrock by allowing others to build their own validators on Bedrock’s node operator network. At this stage, distributed validator technology (DVT) that RockX is currently working on will be implemented.
Phase 4 – Development of More Structured Products
When Bedrock has reached a more mature and decentralised stage, the next course of action would be to integrate more DeFi legos and build more structured products around Bedrock, thereby increasing its use cases.
The vision of Bedrock is a holistic and ambitious one. Specifically, the regulatory environment that’s getting harsher while the still-nascent crypto industry continues to grow and innovate. RockX is deeply committed to the development of the blockchain industry. With its prior products dedicated to helping others build in the space, RockX is truly excited to be building Bedrock – a product that will change the staking game in time to come.
