The Tanssi Vaults on Symbiotic: How They Actually Work?

TL;DR

• Symbiotic introduces a modular vault layer (Universal Staking) that separates deposits, delegation, and slashing into clear roles.

• Universal Staking enables networks to request security from multiple vaults simultaneously, and allows vaults to restake numerous assets at the same time.

• Tanssi integrates with Symbiotic to give appchains a practical path to shared security. Instead of choosing and managing vaults or operators, builders inherit a curated security layer out of the box.

• Vault managers, such as EtherFi, Re7 Labs, and Gauntlet, curate strategies that enable delegators to safely and efficiently restake their assets. Meanwhile, infrastructure providers like Mellow make it possible for these managers to launch and operate vaults.

• Asset issuers, including Lido and Coinbase, anchor liquidity and trust for vault collateral.

Introduction to Universal Staking

Security is a complex challenge for new blockchains. Appchains, oracles, and data layers require strong economic backing from day one, but bootstrapping them alone is slow and expensive.

Symbiotic changes this with a universal approach to restaking. Any ERC-20 token can serve as collateral, and any network can onboard permissionlessly. The system runs through vaults, which separate deposits, delegation, and slashing into clear roles.

Vaults are strategy engines. Delegators provide assets, vault managers decide how they are allocated, and resolvers enforce penalties when networks detect misbehavior. This creates Universal Staking: vaults can restake multiple assets across various networks, and networks can source security from multiple vaults simultaneously.

For builders, this model turns shared security into a practical tool. Through its integration with Symbiotic, Tanssi abstracts away the complexity of vaults and operator recruitment. Tanssi-powered Appchains inherit a ready-made security layer from curated vaults, established collateral, and experienced managers, making shared security available out of the box.

Understanding Symbiotic Vaults

The Core Modules

Every Symbiotic vault runs on three simple but powerful modules:

• Accounting – tracks deposits, withdrawals, and vault shares. This ensures delegators always know what they own while vault managers move allocations under the hood.

• Delegation – defines how assets are allocated to operators and networks. The vault curator/manager determines this. Strategies can be static, rule-based, or actively managed, but the vault applies them consistently.

• Slashing – processes penalty requests from networks. If an operator fails, the vault enforces the rules and reduces the stake. Some vaults include a resolver that can veto invalid requests, providing an extra layer of protection.

  
  

Together, these modules make vaults more than simple deposit pools. They act as policy engines that turn individual deposits into collective, enforceable security. Vaults can be public, open to any delegator, or private, designed for DAOs and institutions. In both cases, they follow the same architecture.

Delegation Strategies

Symbiotic vaults can follow different strategies when allocating stake:

• Static – a fixed set of operators and networks, simple to reason about.

• Rule-based – allocations adjust automatically based on performance or risk thresholds.

• Curator-active – a manager actively adjusts allocations as new networks or operators join.

• Programmatic – fully automated strategies driven by on-chain or external signals.
  

These approaches give vault managers flexibility in balancing rewards and risk. For delegators, it means each vault has a clear policy on how its assets are utilized, and for networks, it ensures that security is distributed predictably.

For Tanssi appchains, this flexibility matters differently. Typically, setting up with Symbiotic vaults would mean negotiating with managers, interacting with operators, or even bootstrapping a vault. That process alone requires capital, know-how, DevOps, and time. Tanssi abstracts all of that away. Builders inherit security from existing vaults and managers out of the box, allowing them to launch quickly without the operational overhead.

Key Vault Managers, Infrastructure and Ecosystem Players

Vaults on Symbiotic are only as strong as the curators, infrastructure, and issuers behind them. Appchains built with Tanssi connect to this ecosystem in minutes, gaining the benefit of trusted strategies and collateral without having to manage the complexity directly. EtherFi, RE7 Labs, and Gauntlet lead vault curation, while infrastructure providers like Mellow make it possible for these strategies to operate reliably. Lido and Coinbase supply the collateral assets most widely used in those vaults.

Together, they form the foundation of a security layer, enabled by Symbiotic, that Tanssi-powered appchains can instantly tap into.

Vault Managers, Infrastructure, and Curators

EtherFi

EtherFi is one of the most recognizable liquid restaking platforms. Its weETHs product accepts multiple assets (WETH, eETH, wstETH, cbETH, rETH, and more) and routes them into Symbiotic as vault caps open. For delegators, this makes Symbiotic more accessible. For networks, it means larger liquidity pools are ready to provide security. Tanssi highlights EtherFi because its vault design lowers the barrier for appchains that want to tap diverse collateral sources without building those integrations alone.

Re7 Labs

Re7 Labs curates strategies across multiple protocols, including Symbiotic vaults built on Mellow. The team is recognized for its pragmatic risk management and for documenting its allocation choices across operators, networks, and assets. Tanssi emphasizes Re7 Labs because their active, multi-chain approach aligns with the needs of appchains: flexible strategies that adapt as new networks demand security.

Gauntlet

Gauntlet brings an institutional perspective to Symbiotic vaults. They publish frameworks for collateral selection, risk thresholds, and operator caps, and their curated vaults often include a diversified set of blue-chip LSTs (wstETH, cbETH, rETH, swETH, wBETH). An example of how restaking can be managed at scale with transparency and efficiency. Their methodology shows what high-assurance vaults can look like, giving appchains confidence that security is handled professionally.

Mellow

Mellow Protocol provides modular infrastructure for liquid restaking vaults. Instead of acting as a manager itself, Mellow enables teams like RE7 or Gauntlet to launch curated strategies that connect directly to Symbiotic. Its audited contracts and integrations (often with Lido’s stETH) make it a backbone for many of the most trusted vaults in the ecosystem. It lowers the barrier for curators to build high-quality vaults. This expands the range of strategies appchains can inherit through Symbiotic without builders having to coordinate directly with managers.

Underlying Assets and Their Significance

The strength of a vault depends on the assets inside it. Collateral quality and diversity matter because they give appchains both liquidity depth and reduced concentration risk when securing their networks.

Lido: stETH / wstETH

Lido is the largest staking protocol, anchoring liquidity for Symbiotic through stETH and wstETH. These tokens are the most widely used assets across vaults, providing unmatched depth and strong market trust. For Tanssi appchains, Lido’s role means immediate exposure to the most liquid staking collateral in the ecosystem.

Coinbase: cbETH

Coinbase brings institutional recognition through cbETH, its exchange-backed liquid staking token. cbETH features in many curated vaults, including Gauntlet’s, and is often chosen by DAOs and treasuries for its brand and compliance standards.Coinbase’s participation ensures that appchains can benefit from collateral trusted by a broad base of institutional and retail stakers alike.

Rocket Pool: rETH

Rocket Pool offers rETH, a decentralized LST that broadens the collateral base for Symbiotic vaults. rETH adds diversity by distributing stake across many node operators.This adds decentralization to the collateral mix and gives appchains exposure to community-driven staking.

Swell Network: swETH

Swell contributes swETH, a growing LST with traction among DeFi users. While smaller than wstETH or cbETH, it provides another layer of diversity in vault allocations.For Tanssi appchains, swETH helps reduce concentration in the largest assets while still connecting to liquid staking markets.

Binance: wBETH

Binance issues wBETH, a wrapped version of staked ETH that appears in some curated vaults. It brings global exchange-backed liquidity into the mix.

Security Mechanisms and Network Integration

Shared security only works if penalties and safeguards are enforceable. Symbiotic vaults build this directly into their design, giving both delegators and networks confidence in the system.

Slashing and Resolvers

When an operator misbehaves, a connected network can submit a slashing request. The vault enforces penalties by reducing the operator’s stake. To prevent abuse, many vaults use a resolver who reviews requests and can veto invalid claims within a defined time window. This balance makes slashing credible but fair.

Onboarding Networks

In Symbiotic, networks that connect directly must define the work operators must perform, set penalties for failure, and design the reward distribution. They also need to recruit operators willing to opt in. Vault managers then encode these rules into the delegation and slashing modules. By contrast, appchains deploying through Tanssi inherit this setup automatically, without having to design rules or build an operator set themselves. By deploying through Tanssi, networks will have immediate access to Tanssi vaults (which currently have up to $500m in TVL), and a diversified set of operators without having to do the work themselves.

Risk Mitigation

Vaults also use caps and controls to manage exposure. An operator cap limits the amount of stake any one node can control, while a network cap prevents over-allocation to a single protocol. Combined with audits of vault contracts and resolver checks, these measures reduce concentration risk and ensure no single actor can compromise security.

For appchains launching through Tanssi, this system provides a transparent layer of protection. Instead of negotiating custom slashing rules, dealing with operator onboarding, and engaging with vault managers, builders inherit Tanssi's shared security model that Symbiotic's universal staking primitives ultimately enable.

Implications for Tanssi and Conclusion

Symbiotic vaults make shared security real by combining curated strategies with trusted collateral. For appchains, this eliminates the most challenging aspect of launching a network: securing a sufficient stake from the start, and having access to a diversified set of operators.

Through its integration with Symbiotic, Tanssi provides builders with direct access to this ecosystem and shared security primitives, eliminating the need to perform the work themselves. Appchains inherit security from vaults curated by proven managers, such as EtherFi, RE7, and Gauntlet. Infrastructure providers such as Mellow make it possible for these strategies to operate reliably, while issuers like Lido and Coinbase supply the collateral most widely used across vaults. Finally, operators including P2P.org, Pier Two, NodeInfra, Alchemy, and OpsLayer run the networks day-to-day. This means builders gain liquidity depth, risk-managed strategies, credible collateral, and competent validators. All without having to assemble them individually.

Universal Staking is a powerful concept. Tanssi makes it a practical tool. A real product that appchains can use today.

Launch your appchain: https://apps.tanssi.network/