Rhea LST (rNEAR, xRHEA)
Summary
Ketju does not approve Rhea LST under its class rule for protocols on unapproved chains: its tokens, rNEAR and xRHEA, exist only on NEAR, a chain Ketju does not approve. Ketju’s concerns with NEAR are who can upgrade the chain and how holders move assets off it. Staking NEAR through Rhea adds a token contract on top of the chain. NEAR’s protocol changes take effect when validators adopt new client software, and assets leave it through a bridge an MPC group signs. We made no finding on how well Rhea LST is run.
- Ketju changes its verdict on NEAR
- rNEAR gains material liquidity on a chain Ketju approves
Ketju checks this memo every night and opens a review if its venues or files show a warning or a cited document changes. The first confirmation is due 2027-03-22.
Research
How it works
Rhea offers ’stake $NEAR and receive $rNEAR’ and ’stake $RHEA and receive $xRHEA’, each ’while earning staking rewards’. Two pools held about $47M when we reviewed them. rNEAR is a liquid-staking token on NEAR validators. xRHEA is a staking token for the RHEA governance token, and its return depends on RHEA emissions and price.
Who controls it
Rhea points to an audits page in its developer guide, and DefiLlama records two audits. The token contracts, the validators they delegate to and the RHEA token all sit on NEAR, so the chain grade’s findings on upgrades and the bridge apply in full.
Withdrawals
Unstaking NEAR follows the protocol’s epoch unbonding. xRHEA redeems into RHEA, a thinly traded governance token. Neither token leaves NEAR without Omni Bridge.
Class rule
The chain rule applies before the token design or validator quality matter. Ketju will review Rhea LST again if NEAR passes Ketju’s chain review.
Sources
Each claim above comes from one of these sources. Where Ketju could not verify a number, the memo states that.
- Rhea Finance: staking products · primary · accessed 2026-09-22
Supports: stake NEAR receive rNEAR, stake RHEA receive xRHEA, staking rewards - Rhea Finance developer guide: audits · primary · accessed 2026-09-22
Supports: published audits - DefiLlama: RHEA LST protocol data · secondary · accessed 2026-09-22
Supports: Liquid Staking category, Near only, reported TVL
The asset and the chain
This memo covers the protocol. A position also holds an asset and settles on a chain. Whichever of the three holds the most power over the position decides who can freeze it. These tables describe control and do not judge quality.
| Chain | Verdict | Freeze | What it can do |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEAR Protocol | Not approved | Mixed control | upgrade authority sits with whoever cuts the nearcore release and the 100 block producers who adopt it, and withdrawals over the bridge depend on an MPC set and Wormhole as well as NEAR consensus. |