TL;DR

• The Problem: New Actively Validated Services (AVS) like oracles and bridges face a "Cold Start" problem: they must bootstrap their own validator sets from scratch, which is prohibitively expensive and fragments liquidity.
• The Solution: We built a universal restaking layer on Aptos that allows staked APT (and Liquid Staked APT) to be repurposed to secure multiple services simultaneously.
• The Result: A modular security marketplace that lowers the barrier for new protocols while increasing capital efficiency for stakers through "Pooled Security."

Introduction

Sentra aims to enhance Aptos Ecosystem by introducing a universal restaking layer that makes it easy to provide cryptoeconomic security with APT and liquid staked APT to various decentralized services such as oracles, cross-chain bridges, AI services/marketplaces and data availability layers.

Sentra enables protocols to tap into robust and secure trust networks from day one, significantly lowering the barrier to securing new protocols and eliminating the need for protocols to incentivize their own validator sets with a highly dilutive reward mechanism, making the process of bootstrapping security more scalable, accessible, and affordable

Problem Statement

Stakers

• Want more rewards for staking their APT while still being able to participate in DeFi

Developers

• High capital costs for bootstrapping security.
• Fragmented security for decentralized services.
• Need a customizable consensus layer

Operators

• Are restricted to securing the base layer only.
• Want more rewards by securing other services

Sentra Solution

Pooled Security with restaking mechanism:

• Sentra layer relies on a set of smart contracts that facilitate decentralized staking and restaking operations for multiple operators and assets
• Extends cryptoeconomic security and reduce overhead to virtual machines, consensus protocols, and middleware, beyond just smart contract DApps.
• Customizable slashing mechanisms ensure tailored security.

Marketplace for pooled security:

• Creates a marketplace where operators choose which module to secure by restaking APT
• Allows flexible governance, enabling faster innovation without affecting core blockchain stability, unlocks a new design space for developers to seamlessly and securely create innovative infrastructure designs

How Sentra Works

Value Proposition

Flow

Staking & Delegating

• Asset Deposit: Stakers deposit assets into the protocol through the staker_manager.
• Share Increase: Stakers' shares are increased based on their deposits.
• Operator Delegation: Stakers delegate operators, who secure AVSs (Actively Validated Services).
• Forwarding to Staking Pool: The staker_manager forwards the deposit to the staking_pool and updates the total shares of the asset pool.
• Operator Share Increase: The shares of delegated operators increase proportionally to the stakers' shares.

Operator Registration & Management:

• Operators register with the operator_manager, indicating the assets they are willing to manage.
• Operators register AVSs via registry_coordinator.

Earning and Rewards Distribution:

• Designating Claimers: Earners, typically the stakers, can designate claimers to collect their rewards.
• AVS Rewards Submission: AVSs submit rewards for stakers as they generate revenue, specifying eligible staked assets, their weights, and reward token amounts.
• Off-Chain Reward Calculation: A trusted reward updater calculates the distribution of rewards off-chain based on AVS submissions.
• Merkle Root Submission: The updater submits a Merkle root, with each leaf containing details of the eligible earner and their rewards.
• Claim Verification and Payment: The earner submits the Merkle proof to the reward_coordinator for verification and receives their payment. This structure streamlines reward distribution while ensuring secure verification through Merkle proofs.

Withdrawal:

• Queueing a Withdrawal: -akers submit withdrawal requests via the withdrawal module. -ch staked asset has its own minimum delay period.
• Withdrawal Completion: Withdrawals are only executed once the delay period for all assets has passed.
• Slashing Consideration: -e slasher module checks for any slashing penalties applied to the operator managing the assets. -ashing impacts the staker’s withdrawable amount.
• Withdrawable Shares Calculation: Final withdrawal amounts are adjusted based on slashing and the staker’s remaining shares.
• Completion: Once delays and penalties are resolved, assets are returned to the staker. This system ensures secure and fair withdrawals while accounting for slashing penalties and delay periods. Slashing: If an operator fails to fulfill its duties or is found to have acted maliciously, the slasher module enables the execution of slashing penalties.

AVS Task Verification:

• Task Completion: AVS operators perform tasks, such as verifying cross-chain transactions.
• Signature Aggregation: An aggregator collects BLS signatures from AVSs and submits them to the service_manager.
• Task Verification: The service_manager verifies the completion of tasks, validates the aggregated BLS signature, and records successful completions. This ensures secure and efficient validation of AVS tasks through BLS signature aggregation and verification.

Example AVS Use case - Sentra ZK Bridge

Process:

• Deposit on Ethereum: User initiates transfer, generating a message hash.
• Sentra Operators: Decentralized indexers listen for the message hash.
• Proof Generation: Operators use the GKR algorithm to generate proofs.
• Consensus Reached: Operators agree on the proof validity.
• Unlock on Aptos: Proof submitted to Aptos, tokens are unlocked for the user.

  

Conclusion

Restaking is the inevitable future of chain abstraction. With Sentra, AnyAxis is positioning itself at the forefront of this wave on Aptos, ensuring that the next generation of decentralized services can launch faster, cheaper, and more securely.