Suzaku Protocol
Collateral Classes (Advanced)

Collateral & Collateral Classes

This is an advanced topic. Most L1s only need to understand the Primary Collateral Class (the L1 native token). Secondary classes are only needed if you want to enable restaking (dual staking).

What Are Collateral Classes?

In Suzaku, every collateral token (an ERC-20) belongs to exactly one "collateral class". Each collateral class can contain one or more ERC-20 tokens that the L1 accepts for a specific staking requirement.

Primary Collateral Class

Each L1 must have at least one collateral class designated as "primary". This is typically the L1's native token.

  • Often, this class corresponds to the L1's own token—potentially including multiple derivative versions of that token. For example, if the L1's native coin is TOKEN, builders can put both TOKEN and a vested version of this token veTOKEN under the same primary collateral class (collateralClassId = 1).
  • Validators must stake some amount of one of these tokens to meet the L1's primary requirement (ensuring they have "skin in the game").
  • Primary collateral classes have minValidatorStake (minimum per-validator) and maxValidatorStake (maximum) that each node must adhere to when becoming a validator.

Secondary Collateral Class(es) (Optional)

Secondary collateral classes are only needed if you want to enable restaking (dual staking). Most L1s start with native token staking only.

An L1 may also define additional collateral classes for other tokens—e.g., stablecoins, LSTs, or cross-chain assets. These are secondary and are optional.

  • Requiring a secondary collateral can help the L1 attract stable or diversified collateral—for instance, a chain might demand "min. 100 native token + min. 200 stablecoin", effectively implementing a Dual-Staking model.
  • A secondary class can also contain multiple Collateral tokens. It usually only has a minValidatorStake enforced.

Collateral Tokens & Burners

  • A Collateral in Suzaku is simply an ERC-20 token with extended functionality for ERC-20 normalization, points tracking, and possible slashing (in the future).
  • If the token supports principal slashing, the Collateral owner attaches a Burner contract that can actually burn or redeem the underlying (e.g., withdrawing ETH from an LST).

How It Works: L1 Staking Requirements

  1. Primary Requirement
    • The L1 sets min/max rules for the primary collateral class. All tokens in that collateral class collectively fulfill the Operator's primary stake when validating.
  2. Secondary Requirement
    • If the L1 wants a dual-staking approach, it activates one or more secondary classes (each with its own minimum).
    • Operators must stake the required amounts from both primary and secondary classes. For example, an L1 could require *at least 100 tokens from the primary class plus at least 50 from the secondary stablecoin class.

Vaults & Collateral Classes

  • When deploying a vault, one specific Collateral ERC-20 is picked to be the vault's underlying token.
  • That token belongs to exactly one collateral class. If the token is recognized under the L1's primary class, the vault's stake satisfies the L1's primary requirement; if it's in a secondary class, it goes toward the L1's secondary requirement.

Each L1's AvalancheL1Middleware (opens in a new tab) contract consults ICollateralClassRegistry to verify which tokens belong to which class and to enforce min/max staking requirements. Operators must have delegations of all required collateral classes to spin up validators for an L1.