DIP-57: An Update for IMP Participants

SSV Network’s move to ETH-denominated fees brings validator operations and SSV Staking into the same economic model. Clusters pay for infrastructure in ETH, operators receive ETH for their services, and network fees (in ETH) contribute to rewards for SSV stakers. Learn more about SSV’s tokenomics.

The Incentivized Mainnet Program (IMP) is following that transition. As outlined in latest revision of DIP-57 and the recent participant update, incentives for legacy clusters paying fees in SSV ended on June 30, 2026.

For validator owners, there are two actions to check: migrating any remaining SSV-fee clusters and claiming outstanding rewards. Unclaimed SSV cluster IMP rewards remain available until January 2, 2027. See the official claim notice.

Why the network is moving to ETH clusters

Ethereum’s validator model has changed. Following Pectra, a single validator can have an effective balance of up to 2,048 ETH. Counting validator keys alone no longer gives an accurate picture of how much stake a cluster operates.

SSV’s effective balance accounting addresses this by scaling fees with the stake represented by those validators. Effective Balance Oracles report balance data on-chain, allowing the protocol to calculate fees and operational runway using that information.

ETH-denominated payments also simplify the relationship between validator rewards and operating costs. Validator owners fund their clusters in the same asset their validators earn, while the network’s ETH fee flow supports SSV Staking.

The latest revision of DIP-57 aligns incentives with this architecture. Legacy SSV clusters retain the older accounting assumptions and do not contribute to the ETH-denominated fee flow supporting SSV Staking. The revision directs continued incentives toward ETH clusters. Read DIP-57.

What changed for IMP participants

The transition follows three milestones:

The July transition window has closed, but migration remains open. DIP-57 sets out the full transition terms.

Claim your outstanding rewards

Previously accrued SSV cluster rewards are still available to claim using either of these dashboards:

• SSV Rewards

• MonitorSSV

How to claim your IMP rewards

1. Open SSV Rewards or MonitorSSV.

2. Connect the wallet associated with your IMP rewards.

3. Review your claimable rewards.

4. Select the claim option and confirm the transaction in your wallet. Ensure you have enough ETH to cover gas fees.

DIP-57 schedules the return of remaining unclaimed legacy rewards to the DAO Treasury in the first scheduled transaction batch of 2027, on January 2, 2027. Validator owners are asked to complete the claim ahead of this date.

Migrate your cluster to ETH fees

Migration switches your cluster’s fee accounting to ETH and automatically refunds its remaining SSV balance. Validators continue operating without interruption.

To migrate:

1. Open https://app.ssv.network/ and connect the wallet that owns your cluster.

2. Select the non-migrated cluster and click Switch to ETH.

3. Review the fee information and enter the cluster’s total effective balance.

4. Deposit ETH to fund your operational runway.

5. Review the summary, confirm the migration, and sign the transaction.

Have enough ETH available for both the cluster deposit and transaction gas. You do not need to withdraw the cluster’s SSV balance manually before migrating. Follow the complete migration guide for each step.

A simpler distribution process

DIP-57 also streamlines IMP funding. Future distributions are funded directly from the DAO Treasury to the rewards distributor, removing the dedicated IMP wallet’s top-up triggers. Its remaining SSV will fund future distributions until exhausted.

For validator owners, the next steps are straightforward: check your cluster’s fee model, migrate any legacy clusters and claim your outstanding rewards ahead of January 2, 2027.