Valantis: stHYPE and a Purpose-Built AMM for Staked Assets
How Valantis combines liquid staking with STEX, an AMM designed around assets that can be redeemed for an underlying token.
Valantis combines stHYPE, a liquid staking token, with a modular AMM architecture built for redeemable yield-bearing assets. Its flagship STEX design addresses a problem that generic AMMs do not explicitly model: an LST can usually be redeemed for its underlying asset after a withdrawal delay.
DefiLlama lists about $219.9 million of Valantis TVL on Hyperliquid L1 as of August 31, 2026.
Why a normal AMM can leak value on LSTs
Suppose stHYPE temporarily trades below the value at which it can eventually redeem for HYPE. A conventional AMM may keep selling stHYPE to arbitrageurs at that discount as it rebalances.
STEX can instead incorporate the LST withdrawal mechanism. When appropriate, the pool can redeem the derivative for the underlying asset rather than treating the temporary secondary-market discount as the only available price path.
Valantis describes the avoided loss as loss versus unstaking.
The pool is modular
Valantis uses a sovereign-pool architecture in which pricing, fee, withdrawal, and other modules can be specialized around the asset. That differs from a one-size-fits-all AMM whose core curve is expected to serve every token type.
Unused reserves can also interact with external lending modules, which introduces additional yield but also another protocol-risk dependency.
stHYPE is separate from the AMM
The liquid staking token represents staked HYPE and accrues staking economics. STEX is the liquidity mechanism around the token. Users should analyze them separately because their risks differ.
A stHYPE holder has staking, validator, contract, and redemption exposure. An LP adds pool balance, module, trading-flow, and external integration risks.
Why Valantis belongs in the Academy
Valantis is a useful example of asset-aware market design. DeFi liquidity does not need to use the same invariant for every asset. If a token has a known redemption mechanism, the exchange can incorporate that property directly into its liquidity logic.