It’s Finally Here!
After a few busy months and four iterations — the long-anticipated Incentivized Testnet for SSV based staking is finally starting.
Open to early ssv.network testers and newcomers alike — anyone can participate, test the network and receive rewards for it.
This is a major milestone for ssv.network in preparation for mainnet launch later in 2022. We’ll be focusing on four main components of the network
- Scale
There are over 9 million ETH at stake, and we’re expecting to reach the tens of millions after the merge. ssv.network needs to be able to support a larger volume of validators and operators without compromising on performance.
2. Tokenomics
The SSV token will be a key factor in the network’s ability to self-govern. The testnet incentives mimic some of the core features in the economic model that will be gradually rolled out during Q2.
3. Ecosystem
The economic incentive will establish accountability between participants and help perpetuate network growth. This will be step one towards a fully functional token model
4. Decentralization
The incentivized test will distribute SSV tokens to participants. More tokens in the hands of the community will allow more participation, voting and contribution, in DAO decisions. Further decentralizing the network is pivotal to the protocol’s health and success over time.
What is SSV?
ssv.network is the first public implementation of SSV (Secret-Shared-Validators) technology. What started as a research paper conceptualized in collaboration with members of the Ethereum Foundation, later labeled DVT (Distributed Validator Technology) is now a fully functional open source decentralized ETH staking incentivized testnet.
At its core, DVT (aka SSV) enables the distributed operation of an Ethereum validator across varying operators. ssv.network is an infrastructure layer designed to promote decentralization, client diversity, fault tolerance and resilience to ETH stakres and the Ethereum protocol.
Why is SSV/DVT important for Ethereum
DVT is an integral building block in Ethereum’s transition to POS, as detailed in the EF roadmap. Distributed validator technology is the technological implementation needed to help scale POS staking without compromising on security integrity and more importantly, decentralization.
There are infrastructural improvements the ecosystem needs in order to further lower the barrier of entry, increase competitiveness and promote client diversity.
The network is a mission critical component in ensuring security, fault tolerance and client diversity for stakers, and the Ethereum ecosystem at large.
The ssv.network protocol is structured as a public good which allows stakers, service providers and builders to easily access a Decentralized ETH staking infrastructure.
How does the Program work?
The SSV community voted YES to reward Operators and Validators for testing the tech. Over the course of the next 2.5 months, the DAO will allocate 64K SSV tokens towards early testers, and newcomers alike.
The ssv.network testnet has been running with active validators and operators since Aug’ 2021. At the date of launch, over 7,000 Validators and 1,000+ Operators have joined the network, and the number keeps growing.
Those who joined the testnet since August and those joining the testnet now will be entitled to receive SSV rewards for their contribution and participation.
Duration and Reward Distribution
The incentivized testnet officially launches on the 24th of January 2022
It will run for ~2.5 month through 5 rounds of rewards officially ending on: 4.4.22
Rewards will be calculated and announced at the end of each distribution round.
However, due to high transaction fees, participants will be able to claim their respective rewards at the end of the last distribution round [Epochs 84,838]. The reward claim process will be executed through a native ‘claim’ page –
You can also use the calculator to estimate your reward. However, you should note that your actual reward might vary from the original calculation displayed by the reward calculator.
SSV Allocation to Participants
Rewards will be allocated to Operators and Validators.
Operators rewards are distributed between ‘All Operators’ and ‘Verified Operators (+DappNode)’
Validator rewards are distributed between ‘All Validators’ and ‘Validators with SSV’ tokens.
Reward Calculation
The rewards distributed are based on a few factors, hence predictions aren’t 100% accurate. To simplify the calculations for participants we’ve created a simulation calculator that can predict, as accurately as possible, the distribution at the end of the fifth and last round.
Moreover, results will be announced and published in a shared excel sheet every Round (2 weeks) so the users can track the rewards at the end of each round.
If you’re interested in diving deeper, you can find details in the earlier incentivized proposals.
Eligibility and Participation
In order to focus on the testnet and the underlying technology and avoid having to deal with abuse and fraud, there is a strict set of rules put in place.
Participants are able to track the eligibility in the network explorer. The information displayed in the explorer is for reference only, actual distribution and amounts will be as shown in the distribution excel sheet which will be updated at the end of each Round.
The final eligibility status will be determined after all Rounds are accounted for and evaluated, including a thorough fraud / abuse elimination process.
Operators
- Anyone can register as an operator
- Operators are rewarded according to the number of eligible validators they run.
- Rewards are calculated only for eligible validators as described above.
- Operator score calculation method
- To become a verified operator please refer to this
Verified + DAppNode
- All of the above applies
- Were given a ‘verified operator’ status
- Existing operators with the verified/ DAppNodes tag in the testnet explorer
Validator
- Anyone can register as a validator
- Validators are rewarded according to the number of eligible validators they run.
- Rewards are calculated only for eligible validators as described above.
- Operator score is calculated according to scoring
- To become a verified operator please refer to this
SSV Participants
- All of the above applies
- The address from which the goETH deposit is made should have SSV tokens for an entire round or longer
- A random snapshot to determine your SSV balance is used to discourage manipulation.
Abuse & Exclusion
- Users claiming big amounts of goerli to register hundreds of validators from recurring addresses might be excluded from receiving rewards
- Whales, attempting to ‘abuse’ the reward pool will be at risk of exclusion
- The community’s ambassadors and DAO can decide to withhold or cancel distributions on a case by case basis
- For newcomers joining, only goETH deposits made through the ssv.network Discord bot will be eligible to receive rewards.
What’s next?
There is still a lot to be tested, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
There is still a lot of testing to be done and many features to release. The objective is for this testnet to be followed by — Phase II — a longer lasting testnet with higher rewards. Testnet V2 is planned to be released in alignment with the release of the ssv.network smart contract roll-out — incorporation of the SSV token as the native token on protocol level.
We will make sure to update the community and followers as we progress.
Remember — this is still a testnet, everything that might go wrong probably will. Be patient, remember the mission, this long term and try to have some fun while at it. THIS IS NOT A GET RICH QUICK SCHEME! If you are here for the wrong reasons please try your luck elsewhere.
Make sure to follow the announcements on Twitter
If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, join the Discord community
If you’re ready to get started you can Join the Testnet right away
Additional Resources:
