Why This Matters
Until late 2024, restaking on EigenCloud (formerly Eigenlayer) was effectively an ETH-only affair. That changed when the protocol shipped Permissionless Token Support, letting any ERC-20 become a restakable asset.
In partnership with Concrete, Renzo’s Flow vault architecture was built to capitalize on that change. Flow reuses the battle-tested ezETH, ezREZ, and ezEIGEN codebase and broadens the restaking space. Any project can deploy a vault, specify the deposit token, operator set, and an AVS (Autonomous Verifiable Service) mix, and instantly issue a liquid restaking token that auto-compounds rewards.
The Challenge
Asset Issuers
An asset issuer may want its asset to be able to participate in restaking and securing AVSs. However, this requires a significant level of effort including building the requisite smart contract infrastructure, partnering with node operators and managing the software needed by the AVSs, and managing reward collection and distribution. If the desired asset is on a chain other than Ethereum, such as an L2, there is additional complexity in bridging the asset over.
AVSs and Operators
AVSs crave diversified collateral so that an attacker must corner multiple markets to break consensus: see, for example, EigenDA Custom Quorums. AVSs face the same difficulties as asset issuers in building and managing a restaked asset.
How Flow Vaults Work
1. Vault spin-up
A curator deploys a Flow vault, picking a deposit asset, selecting a private operator set, and choosing which AVSs to secure.
2. Cross-chain bridging
If the asset being restaked is on a chain other than Ethereum, the Flow vault router handles cross-chain bridging in the background. If the asset is available on multiple chains, such as on Ethereum and a number of L2s, the Flow vault will give a unified restaking token to limit liquidity fragmentation.
3. Restake and delegate
The ERC-20 is deposited into EigenLayer and delegated to the chosen operators. This adds a new collateral type to AVS quorums, raising the economic cost of corruption.
4. Liquid token issuance
Depositors receive a liquid receipt token representing their position in the vault. This is a reward-bearing token whose price automatically appreciates as restaking awards accrue. Users retain full composability while rewards auto-compound, minimizing gas costs and taxable events. Alternatively, the curator can decide how to distribute rewards if they prefer not to auto-compound.
5. Institutional overlays (optional)
If compliance is required, the curator can activate address whitelists, set withdrawal cooldowns, or cap TVL.
Looking Ahead
Flow vaults make it easy for any chain to plug in its native assets on EigenLayer’s security marketplace. If you are an asset issuer or organization interested in launching a Flow vault, reach out to us directly.
Restake with Renzo and Compound with Concrete.