The Based Applications Protocol

Based Applications (bApps) are a new type of decentralized applications that leverage the existing Ethereum validator set for security and liveness, rather than relying solely on staked capital or independent security systems.

Traditional applications often use dedicated security models, which can be capital-intensive and less decentralized. bApps integrate directly with Ethereum’s Layer 1, inheriting the robust security of Ethereum.

Ethereum validators stake 32 ETH to help secure the network. bApps use this existing validator set instead of creating their own, with validators acting as “security guards.”

bApps don’t risk validators’ staked ETH. Instead, they provide separate funds to cover potential slashing, while validators offer their expertise and uptime. This approach gives bApps strong security without adding extra risk to validators.

Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) allows a single validator to be operated across multiple independent nodes. This reduces the risk of downtime or slashing due to individual node failures or malicious actions.

Instead of a single machine running a validator, DVT distributes the L1 validator’s operations across multiple operators, thereby enhancing fault tolerance and decentralization.

bApps have a wide range of potential use cases, including DeFi services, data availability solutions, off-chain computation, cross-chain communication, economic security extensions, and validator commitments, to name a few.

The Ethereum validator set provides essential security and reliability for all these use cases via SSV 2.0. By utilizing the established security infrastructure of Ethereum via SSV2.0, bApps can offer a wide range of functionalities with a high level of trust and decentralization.

Restaking locks staked assets, including the validator withdrawal address, into new protocols for extra rewards, increasing risk exposure.

SSV 2.0, on the other hand, uses validators without locking their withdrawal address, safeguarding Ethereum from contagion. It also raises the cost-to-attack for secured protocols by utilizing the entire Ethereum validator set for security, without risking individual stakes. In contrast, restaking relies solely on the restaked capital for security.

The revised tokenomics for the SSV token introduces many upgrades to the existing model.

The native gas token of the Based-Applications Chain will be the SSV token, in addition to each Based Application that will require an additional network fee in the form of the SSV token.

The Based-Applications Chain (bApps chain) is a standalone chain that will complement the rest of the SSV 2.0 architecture.

The bApps chain will serve as the main coordination layer for Based Applications, allowing any Layer-1 Validator to participate in securing Ethereum Based Applications.

In addition, the bApps chain will be the first use-case of SSV 2.0, as validators of SSV 2.0 will be utilized to provide security and liveness guarantees, procured from Ethereum L1 Validators.