Liquid Stake Units (LSUs)

Overview

Liquid Stake Units (LSUs) are native Radix tokens representing staked XRD with a specific validator. Unlike liquid staking on other chains (Lido's stETH, etc.), Radix LSUs are built into the protocol – they're native resources, not smart contract wrappers.

LSU value accrues automatically as staking rewards compound – the exchange rate between LSU and XRD continuously increases. Users can use LSUs in DeFi while still earning staking rewards: as collateral on Weft Finance, in liquidity pools on Ociswap, or managed via ShardSpace.

How LSUs Work

Each validator mints its own distinct LSU resource. When you stake XRD to a validator you receive that validator's LSUs, representing a proportional claim on its underlying pool of staked XRD (Radix Knowledge Base). Because each LSU is validator-specific, its market value also reflects that validator's reliability and fee – LSUs from different validators are not interchangeable.

Value accrues through the exchange rate rather than by rebasing balances: emission rewards flow into the validator's staked pool each epoch, so a fixed quantity of LSUs redeems for progressively more XRD over time.

Unstaking and Claim NFTs

To unstake, you return LSUs to the validator component. It calculates the XRD they represent, moves that XRD into a separate "unstaked" pool, burns the LSUs, and mints a non-fungible claim NFT recording the amount and the epoch it becomes available. The XRD is not immediately withdrawable: a protocol-enforced unstaking delay of 2,016 epochs (≈ 7 days) must pass before the claim NFT can be redeemed for XRD (Knowledge Base). Locked owner stake carries a longer 8,064-epoch (≈ 28-day) delay.

A holder who will not wait can sell the LSUs instead. Liquify is an on-ledger market for exactly this: liquidity providers deposit XRD with standing bids at a discount, a seller receives XRD at once, and the delay falls on the buyer. DeXian Protocol offered the same instant exit through a pooled liquid-staking service before it closed.

How to Stake and Unstake $XRD gives the wallet steps for staking, unstaking and claiming.

Composability

Because LSUs are native resources rather than smart-contract wrappers, they move through the ledger with the same guarantees as XRD itself and can be used across DeFi while still earning staking rewards – as collateral on Weft Finance, in liquidity pools on Ociswap, or managed via ShardSpace. This native design avoids the wrapper-contract risk that affects liquid-staking derivatives on account-based chains.