← Protocols
Swell
01Description

Liquid staking + restaking protocol. Issues swETH (ETH liquid staking) and rswETH (liquid restaking via EigenLayer + Symbiotic). Now operates Swellchain (an L2) for restaking-secured DeFi.

02Best for
  • 01swETH liquid staking
  • 02rswETH liquid restaking
  • 03Pearls / SWELL airdrop farming
  • 04Swellchain L2 DeFi
03Install
  • pnpm add viem
04Environment variables
VariableScopeDescription
NEXT_PUBLIC_SWETH_ADDRESSClientswETH on Ethereum mainnet: 0xf951E335afb289353dc249e82926178EaC7DEd78. Non-rebasing reward-bearing ERC-20.
NEXT_PUBLIC_RSWETH_ADDRESSClientrswETH (liquid restaking token) on Ethereum mainnet: 0xFAe103DC9cf190eD75350761e95403b7b8aFa6c0.
05Prompt snippet
Integrate Swell. To stake into swETH: call `swETH.deposit{value: ethAmount}()` which mints swETH at the current `swETH.swETHToETHRate()` (wei per swETH, monotonically increasing). To liquid-restake into rswETH: `rswETH.deposit{value: ethAmount}()` — same mint pattern but the validators are simultaneously delegated to EigenLayer + Symbiotic operators. Both tokens are NON-rebasing — convert to ETH for display via `rate * balance / 1e18`. Withdrawals route through the protocol's withdrawal queue: call `WithdrawalManager.createWithdrawRequest(uint256 amount)` to mint a withdrawal-request NFT, then `finalizeWithdrawal(uint256 tokenId)` after the request is processed (validator-exit-queue gated). On Swellchain (the L2), swETH and rswETH are the canonical gas / DeFi assets and are bridged in via the native bridge.
06Gotchas
  • swETH and rswETH are NON-rebasing reward-bearing tokens — DO NOT assume 1 swETH == 1 ETH; always read `swETHToETHRate()` / `rswETH.getRate()` for value.
  • Withdrawals are gated by the Ethereum validator exit queue; processing time can extend to weeks during high-churn periods — the request NFT is the only proof, do not lose it.
  • rswETH stacks Lido-style validator slashing risk + EigenLayer AVS slashing risk + Symbiotic Network slashing risk simultaneously. Slashing is now LIVE on EigenLayer's AllocationManager.
  • swETH / rswETH peg to ETH is enforced only by secondary markets (Curve, Balancer, Pendle) until withdrawal — historical depegs of 2-5% on rswETH during airdrop catalysts.
  • Swellchain L2 swETH is bridged via the canonical bridge; bridge pause halts L2 redemptions. L2 token addresses differ from L1 — never reuse mainnet addresses.
  • Pearls (Swell points) and SWELL airdrop are off-chain accounting; eligibility and unlocks are governance-controlled, not contract-enforced.
  • Swell V3 introduced rate limits on rswETH withdrawals to manage AVS exit alignment — large redemptions may be throttled across multiple withdrawal windows.
07Alternatives