frxETH is a liquid staking derivative issued by Frax Finance protocol. Each frxETH is backed by at least 1 ETH in validator nodes at all times.
frxETH acts as a stablecoin loosely pegged to ETH, so that 1 frxETH always represents 1 ETH and the amount of frxETH in circulation matches the amount of ETH in the Frax ETH system. When ETH is sent to the frxETHMinter, an equivalent amount of frxETH is minted. Holding frxETH on its own is not eligible for staking yield and should be thought of as analogous as holding ETH.
The Frax Ether system comprises three primary components, Frax Ether (frxETH), Staked Frax Ether (sfrxETH), and the Frax ETH Minter.
Liquid staking is a solution of illiquidity problem that happens in staking asset to earn interest, such as ETH validator staking. A liquid staking provider takes token deposits, stakes those tokens, and gives the depositor a receipt which is redeemable for the staked tokens.
The Frax Protocol is the first fractional-algorithmic stablecoin system. Frax is open-source, permissionless, and entirely on-chain – currently implemented on Ethereum, Avalanche, BSC, Fantom, and Solana.