Blockchain PoS Participation for Bridged Funds

When a Sovereign Zone bridges tokens to the blockchain, the backing stake sits idle in the zone’s channel account. This milestone lets that channel-held stake participate in Proof of Stake — staked either by the zone’s sequencers or delegated to the zone’s users — so bridged funds contribute to chain security and earn rewards instead of lying dormant.

Resources Required

  • 1 Researcher
  • 2 Engineers

Risks

  • Channel balances are threshold-controlled by the zone’s sequencers; allowing them to stake must not let a malicious sequencer set lock or slash funds beyond the zone’s intent
  • Staking and unstaking must remain consistent with bridge withdrawals — funds committed to PoS cannot be simultaneously withdrawn, and unbonding delays may interact poorly with the bridge’s finality assumptions
  • Attributing rewards and slashing back to the correct zone or user requires careful accounting within the shared channel account

Deliverables

Channel Stake Participation

Owner: David Rusu

Feature: FURPS

Extend the channel account protocol so balances held on behalf of a Sovereign Zone can be committed to Proof of Stake. Define how stake is registered, how unbonding interacts with bridge withdrawals, and how rewards and slashing are accounted against the channel.

Checklist:

  • Channel account protocol extended to register and unregister stake
  • Unbonding and withdrawal interaction defined so committed stake cannot be double-spent on a withdrawal
  • Reward and slashing accounting attributed back to the channel

Staking Authority Model

Owner: David Rusu

Feature: FURPS

Specify who controls the staking of channel funds — the zone’s sequencers staking on the zone’s behalf, and/or delegation to individual users of the zone — and the authorization required for each path.

Checklist:

  • Sequencer-controlled staking of channel funds
  • User delegation of channel-held stake
  • Authorization rules preventing a malicious sequencer set from misappropriating staked funds