Symbiotic Finance Announces Mainnet Launch

Symbiotic Finance is a shared security protocol designed to create a marketplace for economic security. It allows networks in need of security to access it from those who have assets to stake, creating an efficient ecosystem where stakes can be shared and utilized across multiple networks. Through its flexible architecture, Symbiotic enables stake providers to maximize their returns while offering networks the security guarantees they need.

Restaking within the Symbiotic Protocol allows for efficient asset management and delegation across the ecosystem through a structured system of vaults and operators.

The Symbiotic Finance ecosystem relies on three core participants:

• Stakers: Entities seeking to earn rewards by providing their assets as stake through vault deposits. These can be individual token holders, institutions, or liquid (re)staking protocols. Stakers deposit funds into specialized smart contracts (vaults) managed by curators, who oversee delegation decisions.
• Networks: These are the systems that require economic security to operate safely. They can include Layer 1 blockchains, Layer 2 solutions, or other decentralized systems that rely on stake-based security.
• Operators: Professional entities responsible for maintaining network infrastructure, such as running validators or nodes. Operators receive stake allocations to perform their duties and are essential to the network’s functioning.

The three core participants—Stakers, Networks, and Operators—are connected through a sophisticated infrastructure layer. At the heart of this system are Vaults, which serve as the primary interface between all participants.

Symbiotic coordinates and manages interactions in the ecosystem by:

• Allowing Stakers to deposit assets into Vaults, where Curators manage delegation strategies and approve qualified Operators.
• Enabling Networks to access security by connecting them with Vaults and their associated stake.
• Allocating stake to Operators through Curator-managed Vaults to ensure the smooth operation of network duties.

This interconnected system is monitored by Resolvers, who validate activities and ensure security across all connections.

On January 14, 2025, Chain Security published a review of their audit on Twitter. Five days later, Symbiotic Finance announced that the mainnet was coming soon, though no specific launch date was provided. While community members have asked for more details, the team has opted to keep the date under wraps for now. The audit report highlighted several issues that were addressed, ensuring that the protocol is ready for its next stage.

Additionally, Certora Inc. announced on January 10, 2025, their collaboration with Symbiotic Finance to secure the protocol’s code ahead of the mainnet launch. Through their audit and formal verification process, Certora identified 15 issues, all of which have been resolved, contributing to key improvements for the protocol.

The Chain Security audit specifically focused on the core, burners, and default rewards smart contracts of Symbiotic Finance. Symbiotic accelerates decentralization through shared security by restaking ERC20 tokens to secure networks and earn token rewards. Users deposit ERC20 tokens into Vaults, which are then delegated to operators. If operators misbehave, networks can slash them using the slasher contract. In return, rewards are distributed to stakers and operators.

Symbiotic’s architecture is fully permissionless and offers users great flexibility in configuring smart contracts. However, users must carefully review Vault configurations and trust assumptions before participating.

Here are some interesting issues that were identified during the audit and have since been resolved:

1. Stealing Operator Rewards (CS-SYMB-REW-001)
   • Issue: Malicious networks could register excessive token reward claims in the Merkle tree without depositing tokens, potentially stealing rewards from other networks.
   • Fix: Claims are now enforced to not exceed network deposits, preventing reward theft.
2. Missing onlyOwner Modifier on setDelay (CS-SYMB-BRN-006)
   • Issue: The setDelay function lacked an onlyOwner modifier, allowing unauthorized users to change delays and enabling DoS attacks.
   • Fix: The onlyOwner modifier was added to restrict access to the contract owner.
3. DoS for ETHx Burner (CS-SYMB-BRN-001)
   • Issue: The Burner contract could be subject to a Denial of Service (DoS) attack by spamming withdrawal requests, preventing new requests from being submitted.
   • Fix: Allowed handling of untracked requests, enabling the Burner to process and resolve requests even if they were not originally initiated by it.
4. Slash Execution Order Inconsistency (CS-SYFC2-002)
   • Issue: Symbiotic’s veto mechanism for slashing could cause inconsistencies in execution order, leading to incorrect slashable amounts, including stake deposited after the slashing offense.
   • Fix: Chronological execution of slashes was enforced to ensure accurate and consistent processing.

This detailed audit and the resulting fixes ensure that Symbiotic Finance is well-positioned for its mainnet launch. Stay tuned for more updates as the team continues to improve and finalize their protocol.