Renzo: A Rising Star in the Re-staking Arena

Renzo is an Ethereum re-staking protocol based on Eigenlayer, designed to simplify the complexity of re-staking on Eigenlayer. It provides users with a more convenient and liquid way to participate in the process. Users can deposit ETH or liquid staking tokens (LST) into Renzo in exchange for ezETH, which is a liquid staking token (LRT) that can be used in DeFi applications.

The main advantage of Renzo is that it lowers the operational threshold for users. It will choose the appropriate AVS for delegation on Eigenlayer on behalf of the user, while providing users with annualized ETH stake returns, Eigenlayer points rewards, and Renzo's own points rewards.

ezETH

ezETH is Renzo's liquidity re-staking token, representing the user's position in the Renzo re-staking. Users can receive an equivalent amount of ezETH after depositing native ETH or LST. ezETH is similar to cTokens, and its value increases relative to the underlying LSTs as more AVS token rewards are earned.

Rewards are expected to be distributed in the form of ETH, USDC, and Active Verification Service (AVS) reward tokens. According to the re-staking policy, un-staking requires a minimum of 7 days, primarily influenced by EigenLayer's un-staking requirements. Currently, ezETH does not support direct withdrawals, but it can be used to provide liquidity on Balancer or sold.

Renzo allocates 100% of the EigenLayer rewards to users, and the fees charged by the protocol will be distributed between the protocol reserves (finance) and Renzo node operators.

Renzo Points System

Users can earn Renzo points through the following ways:

1. Mint and hold ezETH: Each ezETH can earn 1 Renzo ezPoint per hour. Early participants will also receive additional rewards.

2. Referral System: Earn extra points by inviting others to deposit ETH. For each new user who joins using the referral link, the referrer will receive 10% of that user's extra points.

The earnings available to Renzo users include: ETH stake rewards, EigenLayer restaking points, and Renzo points.

Project Development History

• December 18, 2023: Renzo Beta mainnet launch
• January 16, 2024: Announced the acquisition of $3.2 million in seed round financing.
• February 22, 2024: Binance Labs announces investment in Renzo
• April 23, 2024: Announcement of $REZ token launch on Binance launchpool
• April 25, 2024: Update token economics model

Related Data

According to DeFiLlama data, the total TVL for the liquidity re-staking track is $1.007 billion. Renzo's TVL reached $323.1 million, distributed across 7 networks, ranking second only to Ethfi's $383.5 million. The three projects, Renzo, Ethfi, and Puffer, account for 70% of the TVL in this category.

Financing Situation

Renzo publicly disclosed financing of $3.2 million. In January 2024, a seed round financing was completed at a valuation of $25 million, led by Maven11 Capital. In February 2024, Binance Labs announced an investment in Renzo, but did not disclose the specific amount.

Project Team

Core contributors include Kratik Lodha and Lucas Kozinski.

Airdrop Details

The first season airdrop ended on April 26, and eligibility depends on the ezPoints balance in the wallet at the time of the snapshot. REZ tokens can be claimed starting from April 30, 2024. The second season rewards will begin on April 26, 2024, with 700 million REZ tokens (7% of the total supply) distributed based on the user's accumulated ezPoints.

Token Economics

$REZ is the native utility and governance token of the Renzo protocol, with a total supply of 10 billion and an initial circulating supply of approximately 1.15 billion (11.50%). The distribution plan is as follows:

• Binance Launchpool: 2.50%
• Community Airdrop: 12.00%
• Team: 20.00%
• Foundation: 12.44%
• Investors and Advisors: 31.56%
• DAO Treasury: 20.00%
• Liquidity Pool: 1.50%

Listing Status

$REZ will be listed for spot trading on Binance on April 30, 2024, at 12:00 (UTC). Currently, it is being mined on Binance Launchpool, with 2.5% of the total token supply allocated, and the mining period is 6 days.

Summary

As a newcomer in the re-staking track, Renzo has attracted a large number of users with simplified operations and multiple rewards. Its TVL performance is impressive, but it also faces some risks, such as the potential de-pegging risk of ezETH and its reliance on Eigenlayer and AVS. Investors need to weigh potential returns against risks and make choices based on their individual risk preferences.