gVaults

The first and only Staking Vaults on Monad

Overview

gVaults are the first validator-specific liquid staking outside of Lido V3, designed from first principles around how the Monad ecosystem is expected to evolve. gVaults introduce validator-specific delegation without fragmenting liquidity. Users can stake directly to a chosen validator while receiving the same fungible $gMON token used across Magma’s integrations. View contracts overview here.

Difference from pooled LST model

Most liquid staking systems aggregate deposits into a shared pool where attribution to individual validators fades into the background. That model is operationally clean, but it also removes visibility and flexibility for both stakers and operators.

With gVaults, deposits made through a validator vault are delegated directly to that validator while still minting the same $gMON token as the rest of the protocol. In practice this means a staker can know where their stake sits without stepping outside the broader liquidity environment.

Benefits for users and institutions

For institutions that perform internal due diligence on infrastructure providers, that abstraction becomes problematic. Investment committees need to understand exactly which validator is responsible for securing the stake, what their operational track record looks like, and how risk is distributed across counterparties to be able to make a decision on how to proceed with capital allocation.

gVaults’ structure maps more naturally to those requirements as it allows institutions to delegate to a validator they previously vetted while receiving $gMON and maintaining full liquidity within the broader ecosystem. As a result, validator-specific exposure and liquid staking, can coexist within the same system.

This structure also improves operational clarity. As risk attribution becomes easier to model, reporting becomes simpler, and allocations can be aligned more closely with internal mandates or counterparty limits. At the same time, capital remains inside Magma’s liquidity layer, allowing institutions to retain the flexibility that liquid staking provides.

Fungibility and Security

Validator participation in gVaults is gated through a whitelisting framework based on performance history and operational standards. Relative deposit caps, based on relative stake to total protocol TVL, limit concentration while leaving room for growth where demand is demonstrated. Deposit caps and validator screening are designed to limit the impact of any single validator while preserving token fungibility and system stability.

If a validator underperforms or falls below thresholds, they can be removed from the set and whilst that mechanism is not particularly novel, it is an important presence in our current approach. Traditional vault implementations address risk through over‑collateralization, effectively asking participants to lock more capital than is actively staked as a protective buffer. By diversifying validator risk among a larger number of validators, we are able to avoid this requirement. Additionally, there is not currently slashing occurring on Monad.

As with Lido V3, there is a backstop mechanism to rebalance old users positions into the CoreVault, in case the majority of TVL ends up kept in gVaults and swapped throughout DeFi to other users. Users depositing into gVaults should be aware that is a rebalance is triggered, their validator protection will be lost. Users of gVaults will still be able to redeem the full underlying stake through the CoreVault and will not incur and penalty, loss or fee during a rebalance.

Redeemability as a baseline expectation

Maintaining predictable redemption pathways remains a core constraint for any liquid staking design. Under extreme liquidity fragmentation, the protocol may perform controlled rebalancing between gVaults and the Core Vault to preserve fungibility and orderly redemption. This mechanism is designed as an infrequent safeguard rather than a routine operation.

Participants retain their $gMON position, with system adjustments occurring only where necessary to maintain protocol‑level redeemability.

Using gVaults

Using gVaults is the same process as depositing into a normal LST, however, you must use the URL of your validator to deposit. You will receive a custom gVaults URL for your validator where you can deposit and receive gMON. You can track your gVaults position on this page.

The minimum deposit amount is 100 MON.