Bedrock is a multi-asset restaking protocol with rising exchange ratios

Bedrock is a staking service that keeps deposited assets usable, using tradable receipt tokens to represent locked ETH, wrapped Bitcoin, and IOTX. Its non-rebasing uniETH balance stays constant while the ETH-per-token exchange ratio rises as validator rewards accrue. The protocol also links ETH to EigenLayer restaking and offers uniBTC, brBTC, and uniIOTX routes. Returns therefore come from underlying staking, restaking, and external liquidity positions, each with separate fees and failure modes.

Follow the uniETH exchange ratio

The uniETH exchange ratio is an accounting measure that states how much ETH backs one uniETH at a given moment.

A non-rebasing uniETH balance does not add units when validator rewards arrive. The protocol pools ETH, operates validators through RockX, and records accrued staking value in the ratio. Minting divides deposited ETH by the displayed ETH-per-uniETH ratio. Reading the position reverses that calculation: uniETH units multiplied by the ratio produce the underlying ETH claim before exit costs.

For one hypothetical worked example, assume every changing input: an 11 ETH deposit, a 1.10 ETH-per-uniETH entry ratio, a later 1.155 ratio, and zero protocol, network, or market fees. Minting produces 10 uniETH because 11 divided by 1.10 equals 10. If the ratio reaches 1.155, the same 10 uniETH represents 11.55 ETH. The increase is 0.55 ETH, even though the wallet still shows 10 uniETH.

Costs between deposit and redemption

The Bedrock cost stack comprises transaction, protocol, and exit charges that reduce the asset value retained between mint and redemption.

An ETH mint normally needs one contract transaction because ETH is native; depositing WBTC or another ERC-20 normally adds an approval before the mint, making two transactions when no allowance exists. Ethereum gas combines the base fee, priority fee, and execution gas. Bedrock also deducts a staking pool fee from rewards, while cross-chain minting adds service and destination-chain components. All of those values appear in the transaction quote, rather than in the uniETH ticker or exchange ratio alone, before signing.

• Native execution: a simple ETH transfer has a 21 000-gas baseline, while Bedrock contract calls consume more gas.
• Protocol charge: the staking pool fee applies to rewards, so it changes net ratio growth rather than token count.
• Cross-chain route: base, percentage, executor, bridge, and destination gas components determine the delivered amount.
• Market swap: Uniswap V3 supports 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.30%, and 1% pool tiers, before price impact.

Four token routes under one protocol

Bedrock's four core receipts are asset-specific tokens that connect ETH, wrapped Bitcoin, and IOTX to separate staking or restaking paths.

ETH through uniETH

uniETH is an 18-decimal ERC-20 receipt for pooled ETH, validator rewards, and the protocol's EigenLayer restaking position. One uniETH represents more ETH as the non-rebasing exchange ratio rises. RockX provides the staking infrastructure, while the EigenPod manager routes withdrawal credentials through contracts rather than an individual user's validator setup.

Wrapped Bitcoin through uniBTC and brBTC

uniBTC is an 8-decimal receipt minted 1:1 against supported wrapped Bitcoin, including WBTC, cbBTC, and RBTC on enabled networks. Chainlink Proof of Reserve supports Secure Mint: a proposed mint proceeds only when reported reserves cover the resulting supply. brBTC takes a broader basket approach, accepting supported Bitcoin derivatives and allocating collateral among routes such as Babylon, Kernel, Pell, and SatLayer. Its reward basket and redemption mechanics differ from uniBTC's reserve-backed 1:1 claim.

IOTX through uniIOTX

uniIOTX is IoTeX's liquid staking receipt for IOTX and uses the same non-rebasing idea. Its native exit has an unusually rigid shape: unstaking occurs in units of 1 000 000 IOTX and requires 94 days, with rewards continuing through that period. Those constants make uniIOTX liquidity materially different from an ETH receipt.

From ETH deposit to liquid receipt

The uniETH entry workflow is an onchain mint that exchanges native ETH for a transferable ERC-20 receipt (covered in Using Bedrock ).

Select Ethereum mainnet

Direct uniETH minting starts on Ethereum mainnet, chain ID 1, with native ETH and enough ETH left for gas. Cross-chain ownership uses a separate route; selecting Arbitrum One or another network does not turn its gas token into mainnet ETH.

Review the ratio and input floor

The staking workflow sets 0.01 ETH as the mint-field minimum, far below Ethereum's 32 ETH validator deposit. The quoted output divides the deposit by the exchange ratio. Compare that quote with any cross-chain service charges before approving the transaction.

Mint and record the basis

One wallet confirmation sends native ETH to the staking contract and mints uniETH to the same address. MetaMask reads the 18-decimal ERC-20 balance after confirmation. Record the deposited ETH, uniETH received, exchange ratio, network fee, and transaction identifier; those five fields preserve the position's starting basis without relying on a later interface view.

What actually drives restaking returns?

Restaking returns are a layered reward stream that combines Ethereum validator economics, EigenLayer activity, protocol accounting, and optional DeFi income.

Native staking supplies the durable base layer. Ethereum activates a validator with 32 ETH, processes 12-second slots, and groups 32 slots into a 6.4-minute epoch. The live annual rate still moves with total active stake, validator participation, block proposals, priority fees, and protocol charges. Bedrock pools deposits into validators, then reflects net accrued ETH in the uniETH ratio. A higher ratio records more ETH per receipt; it does not promise that uniETH's market price will match that claim at every trade.

EigenLayer adds a second layer by reusing validator stake for actively validated services. Its distributions, delayed rewards, or campaign points follow separate rules and should not be silently folded into the native ratio calculation. BR incentives and Bedrock Diamonds also sit outside the ETH claim unless a defined distribution converts them. Deploying uniETH through Curve or Pendle introduces a third return source from trading fees, incentives, or yield markets, together with the position-specific market exposure.

Liquidity after minting

uniETH liquidity is the ability to transfer, swap, or deploy the receipt while its underlying ETH remains staked.

As an ERC-20 token, uniETH moves between compatible addresses without unstaking the validator position. A Curve pool supports exchange between uniETH and liquid assets when reserves exist. Pendle wraps yield-bearing assets into its Standardized Yield format, then separates principal and yield exposure into PT and YT tokens with a maturity. Liquidity provision earns pool fees but changes the holder's asset mix, while a Pendle position adds maturity pricing. Each layer keeps the original exchange ratio relevant, yet creates a separate balance and exit route.

Using a receipt as collateral creates another use case only where a lending market lists it. The collateral factor, oracle design, and liquidation threshold then govern the borrowing position, not Bedrock's exchange ratio. Holding the token without another protocol preserves the simplest claim: one uniETH balance linked to pooled ETH.

Exit paths and waiting periods

A Bedrock exit is either a protocol redemption that releases the underlying asset or a market swap into another token.

Protocol redemption burns the receipt and returns the underlying asset after the applicable queue. Bedrock's uniETH flow uses direct withdrawal amounts in 32 ETH multiples and adds a 7-day EigenLayer processing period to Ethereum's live exit queue. An ERC-20 redemption involves up to three wallet actions: approval, withdrawal request, and claim. Smaller uniETH amounts use a market swap route instead of waiting for a validator-sized redemption.

A secondary-market exit settles after the swap transaction confirms, but the received ETH follows pool pricing. Compare the quote with the onchain ETH claim calculated from the exchange ratio. A discount reflects reserves, trade size, pool fee, and routing; a premium reflects the same market forces in reverse. uniIOTX's 94-day native exit and uniBTC's separate reserve process make the chosen receipt central to timing.

Risk concentrates in contracts, operators, and markets

The Bedrock risk model combines exposure to smart contracts, validator operations, restaking decisions, reserve systems, and secondary markets.

Contract and upgrade controls

Smart-contract exposure begins with mint, token, restaking, bridge, and withdrawal contracts. uniETH uses an upgradeable proxy and an EigenPod manager, so contract logic and administrative controls both matter. Bedrock lists five audit reports across brBTC, uniBTC, and uniETH, including three uniBTC reviews. An audit narrows known code risk at a reviewed revision; it does not freeze future upgrades or external integrations.

Validator and restaking conditions

Validator and restaking exposure comes from RockX operations, Ethereum penalties, and EigenLayer service selection. Poor validator performance slows ratio growth, while slashable conduct reduces underlying stake. Restaking extends economic responsibility beyond Ethereum consensus, so an additional reward stream also adds operator and service conditions. A non-rebasing wallet display will not reveal that change by token count alone.

Reserve, bridge, and market layers

Market and cross-chain exposure appears when a receipt leaves its native mint path. uniBTC relies on supported wrapped-Bitcoin reserves and Chainlink reporting; an unavailable reserve check stops new Secure Mint issuance. Celer carries cross-chain uniETH, while Chainlink CCIP carries supported brBTC and uniBTC routes. Each bridge introduces message delivery, destination contracts, route caps, and separate gas. Secondary pools add depth and price-impact limits, so the protocol exchange ratio, bridgeable balance, and immediately tradable value remain three different measurements for one position.

Network placement and token mobility

Network placement is the chain-specific form of each receipt, including its contract, bridge route, gas token, and available liquidity.

uniETH starts on Ethereum mainnet at chain ID 1, while token supply also exists on Arbitrum One at chain ID 42161, Scroll at 534352, and Linea at 59144. Those four environments do not share one contract address or gas market. brBTC uses Chainlink CCIP between four named bridge endpoints: Ethereum, BNB Chain, Berachain, and Base. That route accepts externally owned accounts, while onchain caps remain route-specific. Match the network, receipt contract, gas token, and bridge path before moving funds, because deployment does not guarantee identical minting, redemption, or liquidity. The other half of this is described in Bedrock availability.

BR governance sits beside uniTokens

BR governance is a separate vote-escrow system that directs Bedrock DAO incentives and decisions without changing uniToken ownership claims.

BR is a transferable governance and utility token; locking it mints non-transferable veBR at a 1:1 ratio. The configured veBR model sets a 1 BR minimum, a 4-week lock, a 2-week cooldown, and a 12-week season. This vote-escrow layer controls gauges and incentive allocation. It does not represent ETH, wrapped Bitcoin, or IOTX deposited into the protocol, so BR performance should remain separate from a uniToken return calculation.

In that setup, Bedrock DAO runs 2-week governance epochs through Aragon: week 1 handles voting, and week 2 handles distribution and claims. Voting power accumulates for up to 7 days within the cycle. BR has a published maximum supply of 1 000 000 000 tokens, whereas veBR records locked participation. Governance matters to future parameters, but the holder's immediate receipt claim still follows its asset contract and exchange rule.

stETH, rETH, weETH, and ezETH as alternatives

Liquid staking alternatives are Ethereum receipt tokens whose accounting, operator design, DeFi depth, and restaking exposure differ from uniETH.

Lido's stETH changes wallet balances through rebasing, while wstETH wraps that position into a non-rebasing exchange-rate token. Rocket Pool's rETH also uses a rising exchange rate and spreads validation across its node-operator system. weETH is the non-rebasing wrapped form of EtherFi's eETH, which adds EigenLayer restaking exposure. Renzo's ezETH is another reward-bearing restaking receipt. By comparison, uniETH combines a non-rebasing ratio, RockX-operated validators, and Bedrock's EigenLayer architecture; its distinguishing feature is the wider protocol family that also includes Bitcoin and IOTX receipts.

Choose by accounting model, operator design, restaking scope, liquidity, and exit mechanics. stETH offers a rebasing balance; rETH, wstETH, weETH, ezETH, and uniETH keep unit balances stable while value accrues through their respective designs. Running an Ethereum validator removes receipt-token market exposure, but it requires validator operations and a 32 ETH deposit.

Quick answers about Bedrock

1 August 2026 Updated