Introduction

Exocore is the first layer-one omnichain restaking protocol. The Exocore protocol is designed with a modular architecture, incorporating a Tendermint-based Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus mechanism, Zero-Knowledge (ZK) light-client bridging, and a fully EVM-compatible execution environment. This design enables smooth interactions for restakers, a seamless integration for developers, and a decentralized governance framework powered by a PoS network of restaked validator operators that can also opt-in to running nodes for Actively Validated Services (AVS). Additionally, Exocore introduces novel concepts, such as Union Restaking, where off-chain services can form a union to extend the crypto-economic security of their own tokens to each other. By pooling crypto-economic security and extending it to off-chain systems, Exocore powers an open market for decentralized trust.