sAVAX is a tradeable receipt of AVAX locked through Benqi to secure the Avalanche chain. It accrues staking yield and is redeemable 1:1 for AVAX.
sAVAX is a low-cap, fully collateralized asset. This asset is exposed to the underlying risks of Benqi (staking), a protocol rated as Watch out.
sAVAX has a fixed supply. 1 sAVAX is always redeemable for 1 AVAX. sAVAX can trade at a discount to 1 AVAX as it is less liquid, has less utility (cannot be used to pay for gas fees), and has more technical risk (Benqi smart contract bugs). sAVAX can trade at a discount to 1 AVAX as it is less liquid, has less utility (cannot be used to pay for gas fees), and has more technical risk (Benqi smart contract bugs).
sAVAX is highly correlated to the overall market. sAVAX can trade at a discount to 1 AVAX as it is less liquid, has less utility (cannot be used to pay for gas fees), and has more technical risk (Benqi smart contract bugs).
Benqi is a liquid staking platform for Avalanche that allows users to stake their AVAX without needing to lock assets or maintain the required node infrastructure. This enables users to continue participating in DeFi activities related to lending and market making.
Users receive sAVAX tokens when staking their AVAX through the Benqi staking contract. sAVAX can be minted or burned based on a floating conversion rate. The conversion rate tracks the underlying staked AVAX to account for staking/unstaking activity, rewards, penalties and fees. This means AVAX and sAVAX are not pegged or interchangeable at a 1:1 ratio. As the underlying staked AVAX continues to accrue rewards, sAVAX is expected to represent more staked AVAX, which should lead to a diverence in prices over time. There are no lock-up or minimum deposit requirements when staking with Benqi.
AVAX deposited into the Benqi staking contract are subsequently locked into the Avalanche P-Chain. The Avalanche P-Chain is the metadata blockchain on Avalanche where validating and staking is conducted. Users can withdraw their sAVAX back into AVAX plus accrued rewards at any time, pending a 15-day unlock period. In the meantime, users can always exchange their sAVAX for AVAX through exchanges that offer liquidity like Trader Joe's sAVAX-AVAX pool.