Stake AVAX. Stay Liquid.
BENQI is the #1 DeFi protocol on Avalanche. Stake AVAX to receive liquid sAVAX — earn validator rewards while staying composable across DeFi. Lend, borrow, launch validators, and govern with QI Miles. 23M+ AVAX staked. Institutional with Anchorage Digital.
Three pillars.
One protocol.
BENQI is Avalanche's most comprehensive DeFi platform — liquid staking, lending & borrowing, and validator deployment in one non-custodial, permissionless protocol.
Liquid Staking
Stake AVAX on the C-Chain directly — no P-Chain bridge needed. Receive sAVAX, a liquid staking token that continuously accrues value relative to AVAX as validator rewards compound. Use sAVAX as DeFi collateral, swap it, or supply it to lending markets — while earning staking rewards simultaneously.
Lending & Borrowing
Supply AVAX, WETH, WBTC, USDC, USDT, sAVAX, and Avalanche ecosystem tokens to earn real-time interest represented by qTokens. Borrow assets against your collateral. Dynamic interest rates adjust algorithmically based on utilization. Includes Avalanche Ecosystem Markets for niche and RWA-backed assets in isolated pools.
IGNITE Validators
Deploy an Avalanche validator without 2,000+ AVAX upfront capital or technical expertise. IGNITE (launched Oct 2025) offers two models: Pay-As-You-Go (8 AVAX/week rental, no upfront capital) or Stake QI (stake QI tokens, cover hosting fees, earn QI rewards automatically). Accessible validator infrastructure for everyone.
Stake once.
Earn everywhere.
sAVAX is a yield-bearing liquid staking token — its value relative to AVAX increases over time as validator rewards auto-compound. Deploy it anywhere in DeFi while still earning.
Stake AVAX on C-Chain
Deposit AVAX directly from the Avalanche C-Chain — no P-Chain bridge required. BENQI's smart contracts handle validator staking automatically behind the scenes.
Receive sAVAX instantly
You receive sAVAX at the current exchange rate (1 AVAX ≈ 0.97 sAVAX). This ratio increases over time as Avalanche validator rewards accrue into the sAVAX price — your rewards are reflected in the rate, not in additional tokens.
Use sAVAX across DeFi
Trade sAVAX, use it as collateral in BENQI Lending, supply to SparkDEX liquidity pools, or bridge cross-chain. Your sAVAX keeps accruing staking value regardless of where it's deployed.
Unstake at any time
Redeem sAVAX back to AVAX instantly via secondary market swaps, or via BENQI's native unstaking with a standard Avalanche unbonding period. BENQI handles all technical validator management transparently.
Supply. Borrow. Earn.
Algorithmically managed interest rates. Over-collateralized loans. Real-time qToken accrual. Multiple isolated market pools for ecosystem and RWA assets.
Stake QI.
Earn Miles.
QI is BENQI's governance token. Stake QI to accrue BENQI Miles (veQI) — used for Node Voting, governance proposals, and protocol parameter decisions. Max 100 Miles per QI staked.
Your QI Rewards
Connect wallet to view your QI balance, accrued BENQI Miles, and claimable staking rewards.
⚠ Unstaking any QI resets ALL Miles to zero
QI Token Stats
QI is BENQI's native governance token with a fixed supply of 7.2B QI. Listed on Binance, Coinbase, Kraken (Jul 2025), and major DEXs. Stake QI for BENQI Miles, which power all protocol governance.
Launch an Avalanche
validator in minutes.
IGNITE removes all technical and capital barriers to running an Avalanche validator or subnet. Launched October 2025 — choose the model that fits your needs.
Pay-As-You-Go
Rent AVAX for your validator with a one-time weekly fee — no upfront AVAX capital needed. Ideal for MEV solvers, short-term validators, or anyone testing Avalanche validator economics without committing 2,000+ AVAX.
Stake QI Model
Stake QI tokens to cover hosting fees and earn QI rewards automatically — BENQI handles all technical validator management. No code, no servers, no downtime monitoring needed. Long-term aligned for QI holders.
Node Voting
Run a validator via IGNITE, then use your BENQI Miles to attract AVAX delegations from BENQI's Liquid Staking Pool. More Miles = more vote weight = more AVAX delegated to your validator = higher rewards. QI Miles are the key incentive layer.
About BENQI
// What is BENQI liquid staking?
BENQI liquid staking lets you stake AVAX on Avalanche's C-Chain and receive sAVAX — a yield-bearing liquid token — in return. sAVAX continuously accrues value relative to AVAX as validator rewards compound into the exchange rate. You can trade, lend, or use sAVAX as collateral while still earning staking rewards.
// What are BENQI Miles (veQI)?
BENQI Miles (formerly veQI) are earned by staking QI tokens. They accrue linearly — 1 staked QI earns up to 100 Miles over ≈297 days (0.000003888 Miles/second/QI). Miles grant governance voting rights including Node Voting. Warning: unstaking any amount of QI resets your entire Miles balance to zero, incentivizing long-term commitment.
// What is IGNITE?
IGNITE (launched Oct 2025) is BENQI's Avalanche validator deployment service. It removes the technical complexity and 2,000+ AVAX capital barrier for running a validator. Two models: PAYG (8 AVAX/week rental, no upfront capital) and Stake QI (stake QI to cover fees, earn QI rewards automatically without any technical management).
// How does the sAVAX exchange rate work?
Unlike rebase tokens (e.g. stETH), sAVAX uses an exchange rate model: the sAVAX/AVAX ratio increases over time as validator rewards accrue. You hold the same amount of sAVAX tokens, but each token is worth progressively more AVAX. This is more gas-efficient and tax-friendly in many jurisdictions than rebase-based liquid staking.
// What are BENQI Avalanche Ecosystem Markets?
Avalanche Ecosystem Markets are isolated lending pools within BENQI that support long-tail and niche tokens, including RWAs and gaming assets like NXPC (MapleStory Universe, integrated Dec 2025). Isolated pools prevent volatility in one asset from affecting others — making BENQI safe for higher-risk collateral while maintaining main market stability.
// Is BENQI safe?
BENQI has been audited by Quantstamp, Halborn, and other reputable security firms. It operates non-custodially — your assets remain under smart contract control at all times, not held by BENQI. The protocol maintains a public, open-source codebase and a bug bounty program. Smart contract risk and liquidation risk are always present in DeFi.