🧠Problem & Solution: Liquidity vs. Governance Trade-off
Helix Labs enables strategic token holders—foundations, validators, and institutional stakers—to access liquidity from staked positions without unwinding governance participation or triggering sell pressure on native chains. Blockchain foundations and large validators face a critical constraint: billions in staked assets generate network security and governance rights, but accessing liquidity requires unstaking—which means:
Weeks of lockup periods (7-21 days depending on chain)
Lost staking yields during unstaking
Governance exit and voting power reduction
Downward price pressure on native tokens
Traditional custody solutions cannot access staking yields across multiple chains while maintaining regulatory compliance.
The Solution: Canton Network CDP Protocol
Helix operates collateralized debt positions (CDPs) on Canton Network's institutional settlement layer, enabling users to:
Deposit multi-chain LSTs as collateral (stETH, stADA, stICP, stATOM, stSOL)
Borrow against staked positions without unstaking
Preserve native staking yields (3-8% APY continues accruing)
Maintain governance rights on origin chains
Access institutional lending markets (LendOS, Canton lending protocols)
Key Advantage: Settlement on Canton Network provides privacy-enabled, compliant infrastructure trusted by Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, Circle, and HSBC.
How It Works
Step 1: Native Validator Operations
Helix runs sovereign validators across seven blockchain networks:
Cardano
Internet Computer (ICP)
BNB Chain
Aptos
Sui
Solana
Ethereum
Users stake assets through Helix validators and receive Helix Liquid Staking Tokens (hstTokens)—e.g., hstADA, hstICP, hstETH.
Step 2: Cross-Chain Verification via ICP Chain Fusion
Helix uses ICP's Chain Fusion technology (threshold cryptography + HTTPS outcalls) to provide cryptographic proof that each hstToken on Canton is backed 1:1 by staked assets on its native chain.
No bridges. No wrapped tokens. No counterparty risk.
Step 3: Canton CDP Protocol
Users bring hstTokens onto Canton Network and:
Lock collateral in Helix CDP smart contracts (Daml)
Borrow stablecoins (USDC, USYC) or access credit lines
Deploy borrowed capital across Canton's institutional DeFi ecosystem (lending, repo markets, RWAs)
Privacy guarantees: Canton's sub-transaction privacy model ensures portfolio composition remains confidential—only authorized parties see collateral holdings.
Step 4: Dual Yield Generation
Base Layer: Continue earning native staking yields on origin chains (3-8% APY)
Canton Layer: Earn yields from institutional lending markets (12-18% on Blend protocol)
Example: Cardano Foundation stakes 100M ADA via Helix → receives hstADA → collateralizes on Canton → borrows $2M USDC → deploys into LendOS institutional lending → earns dual yield while maintaining ADA governance participation.
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