Stafi (FIS)

Overview

StaFi, short for Staking Finance, is a cryptocurrency project built around liquid staking. Its token is FIS. The project began with a simple problem: on many proof-of-stake blockchains, people lock tokens to help run the network and earn rewards. While those tokens are staked, they can be hard to use elsewhere. StaFi developed tokens that represent a stake and can be transferred or used in other applications. (docs.stafi.io)

StaFi has since widened its focus. Alongside its early staking products, it develops Liquid Staking as a Service, or LSaaS: tools that other teams can use to build staking products. FIS has served as the project’s native token for network operations and governance, while StaFi’s newer work places more emphasis on reusable software and products built on other blockchains. (docs.stafi.io)

History & Team

From StaFi Chain to staking infrastructure

StaFi was co-founded by Liam Young and Tore Zhang. Its original blockchain, StaFi Chain, launched on September 7, 2020. Built with the Substrate framework, the chain supported FIS transfers, staking and token distribution at launch. StaFi later expanded its liquid-staking work across several blockchain ecosystems. (assets-cms.kraken.com)

The project’s approach changed as its products developed. Earlier designs issued staking-related tokens on StaFi’s own chains. Later designs placed them directly on the blockchain where they would be used. StaFi also moved toward supplying the software that lets other projects create liquid-staking tokens. In 2026, the team reported that StaFi Chain had entered a foundation-operated mode and that FIS had migrated to Ethereum. StaFi’s governance discussions also described plans to retire entry points for several older staking products. (docs.stafi.io)

Technology & How It Works

Turning a stake into a usable token

Proof-of-stake networks rely on validators to help confirm transactions. Token holders can often delegate assets to validators and receive rewards under the network’s rules. Liquid staking adds a second step: after a user deposits an asset into a supported staking system, the system issues a liquid staking token that represents a claim on the staked assets. StaFi calls its early versions rTokens. (docs.stafi.io)

An rToken can move between wallets while the assets it represents remain staked. Depending on the product and available integrations, it may also be used in another decentralized finance application. To withdraw through the staking system, a holder returns the liquid token and follows the underlying network’s unstaking process. The number of liquid tokens received for a deposit can depend on an exchange rate that reflects accumulated staking rewards; it is not always a simple one-token-for-one-token exchange. (docs.stafi.io)

For developers, StaFi’s LSD Stack provides building blocks rather than one design for every chain. Its Application Development Kit supports products built with contracts on a host blockchain. Its Chain Development Kit supports staking-token functions built into a blockchain itself. The toolkit includes components for deposits, withdrawals, token issuance, reward updates and user interfaces. The exact design depends on how the host network handles staking. (docs.stafi.io)

One example is StaFi’s EVM staking design, which uses contracts to track deposits, manage staking pools and issue the token a user receives. A separate relay service triggers routine updates that a smart contract cannot start on its own. This division helps explain LSaaS: a team can use common parts of StaFi’s framework while adapting the staking process and token to its own network. (docs.stafi.io)

Tokenomics & Utility

FIS and the project’s economic model

At StaFi Chain’s launch, 100 million FIS were allocated across categories that included community rewards, the foundation, the team, advisers, early purchasers and ecosystem growth. Community rewards made up 40% of that initial allocation. These figures describe the original distribution, not a fixed limit on every FIS token that could later exist: the chain’s design also included token issuance for staking incentives. StaFi’s documentation says the original allocations have since unlocked. (docs.stafi.io)

FIS originally had several connected jobs. Validators and nominators used it in StaFi Chain’s staking system, and users paid network transaction fees with it. FIS holders could also take part in decisions about the protocol. StaFi’s tokenomics plans describe governance over matters such as treasury use, upgrades and staking-product settings. As staking products moved away from StaFi’s own chain, governance became a more prominent part of FIS’s role. (docs.stafi.io)

The project has also discussed reducing token issuance and using burn mechanisms. Its later Ethereum migration changed the setting in which FIS operates, so the token’s early chain-security and gas functions are best understood as part of StaFi’s development history. Treasury decisions, ecosystem incentives and the link between FIS and LSaaS remain important subjects in the project’s governance work. FIS and an rToken serve different purposes: FIS is StaFi’s ecosystem token; an rToken represents a position in a particular staking product. (dao.stafi.io)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Tools for stakers and builders

StaFi’s original use case was to give stakers a transferable token while their underlying assets remained committed to a proof-of-stake network. That idea can let a holder transfer a staking position without first completing a standard unstaking period. Whether a particular liquid token can be used in a lending pool, exchange or another application depends on that product’s integrations. (docs.stafi.io)

LSaaS serves a different group: blockchain teams and independent developers. They can use StaFi’s tools to create their own liquid staking tokens, rather than build every deposit contract, reward process and interface from the beginning. StaFi documents development stacks for environments including EVM-compatible chains and Solana. It has also outlined a SubDAO model in which separate groups build staking products with their own tokens while remaining connected to the wider StaFi ecosystem. These plans show how the project aims to support products beyond those operated directly by its original team. (docs.stafi.io)

StaFi has explored other token designs as well. Its documentation describes a system for issuing a liquid token against deposited stablecoins and connecting the deposits to tokenized real-world-asset products. That architecture broadens the idea of a transferable claim, though it works differently from staking a coin to help secure a proof-of-stake network. (docs.stafi.io)

Advantages & Challenges

Liquid staking addresses a clear limit of ordinary staking: a staked asset may continue to earn network rewards, but the owner cannot freely move that same asset. A transferable staking token gives the holder another way to use or transfer the position. StaFi’s developer tools also offer reusable parts for teams that want to launch such products on different blockchains. Issuing a liquid token on its host chain can make it easier to connect with applications on that chain. (docs.stafi.io)

The model has trade-offs. A liquid staking product needs working deposit and withdrawal systems, reward calculations, and a way to account for the validators holding the underlying stake. Cross-chain transfers can add more steps when a token is issued on one network but used on another. StaFi’s move toward host-chain issuance reflects that design challenge. Its shift from operating many rToken entry points toward providing LSaaS also leaves a practical question for the ecosystem: how closely will use of developer-built staking products connect to FIS governance and utility? (docs.stafi.io)

Where to Buy & Wallets

FIS is available on Gate and Kraken, with availability depending on the customer’s region. FIS also has an Ethereum ERC-20 version, so an Ethereum-compatible wallet such as MetaMask can hold it. StaFi’s documentation lists FIS contracts on other EVM networks as well. The wallet network and the network used for a transfer must match the form of FIS being sent; StaFi’s move from its original chain to Ethereum makes that distinction especially relevant. (gate.com)

Regulatory & Compliance

Rules for cryptoassets differ by jurisdiction and by activity. In the European Union, the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework covers many cryptoasset offerings and services, including activities carried out by trading and custody providers. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission has published its interpretation of certain protocol-staking and liquid-staking activities under federal securities laws. Those materials address defined kinds of activity; they do not give every token or staking arrangement the same legal treatment. (esma.europa.eu)

Shariah compliance is a separate question from legal status. Islamic finance principles prohibit riba—interest on lending—as well as gambling and excessive uncertainty. StaFi’s proof-of-stake products involve network participation and rewards, but the project’s designs also span liquid tokens and proposed stablecoin-based products. A single halal conclusion for every use of FIS or every StaFi-built product is therefore not established by the token’s technical design. Assessment would depend on the specific arrangement, including where rewards come from and how the underlying assets are used. (imf.org)

Future Outlook

StaFi’s stated direction is to make liquid-staking software easier for other teams to use. Its development materials describe modular tools for several blockchain environments, while its SubDAO plans aim to give individual staking products their own communities and tokens. The move of FIS to Ethereum and the consolidation of older rToken products mark a shift away from relying on StaFi Chain as the center of every activity. (docs.stafi.io)

The key measure of that direction is whether builders put the tools to work in products people use. For FIS, another question is how governance and treasury decisions will connect those independently built products to the wider StaFi ecosystem. Those links will shape the token’s role as the software framework develops. (docs.stafi.io)

Summary

StaFi began by making staked cryptoassets more usable through transferable rTokens. It has grown into a project focused on tools for building liquid-staking products across blockchains. FIS ties together StaFi’s history as a staking network and its continuing governance role as the project develops LSaaS. (docs.stafi.io)