Ssv.network Goes Permissionless: Unlocking DVT for the Staking Industry

The SSV DAO is thrilled to announce the completion of the final phase in the ssv.network mainnet launch! Tried and tested DVT infrastructure is now open for anyone to use, enabling a new standard for the ETH staking industry.

Celebrate this amazing occasion with us at our online event on 10 January, 2024!

TL;DR

• Discover the new ETH staking standard
• Understanding permissionless launch
• Incentivizing DVT adoption
• What’s next for ssv.network?

The New Standard for Ethereum Staking

This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for, folks. A fully permissionless, open-source, public good that allows any participant in ETH staking to benefit from distributed validator technology (DVT). We are finally here, and the implications are exciting, to say the least.

After completing each phase in the mainnet rollout, both the tech and ecosystem are battle-tested, audited, and live to go out into the wild blue yonder. High-performing, globally distributed, and vetted node operators are ready, various staking applications are live to cater to diverse staking needs, and now anyone can join the network as a validator or node operator. Each of these tenants plays an essential role in Ethereum’s decentralization, and ssv.network is opening the floodgates for everyone to join.

At its core, SSV signifies safe, decentralized, and scalable access to staking infrastructure, ensuring it becomes a domain open to everyone. A platform with trust minimized and a user experience so seamless that technical barriers fade away. Historically, barriers to ETH staking, i.e., building, staking, and node operator, have made participating difficult.

• For builders, SSV offers a flexible, scalable, and robust infrastructure, allowing them to focus on innovation and their products and not on validator complexities. Use ssv.network as a building block for any staking application to decentralize validator infrastructure with the latest DVT technology.
• Stakers can find a multitude of onramps to DVT-powered staking solutions in the ecosystem, enhancing security and overcoming barriers like capital requirements and intricate setups. Solo-stakers can also choose to run their own 32 ETH distributed validators (DV) on world-class infrastructure decentralized across the world. Be a node in your own cluster and earn protocol rewards from supporting other validators in the network. The possibilities are endless.
• Node operators, vital to the network, will also experience a revolution — join clusters to maximize uptime, zero-collateral node operation, and eradicate slashing concerns. Big and small node operators play a role in Ethereum’s decentralization; if you have excellent, consistent performance, apply to become a Verified Operator.
• For Ethereum, SSV.Network presents a holistic solution that not only helps unlock the doors to distributed staking for builders, stakers, and node operators, but helps decentralize the network in the process.

How does Permissionless launch work?

Following the passage of the SSV DAO [DIP-14] Permissionless Mainnet Upgrade at the end of November, the network has undergone two major changes.

Phase 1 — Enabling permissionless access for validators.
By the vote passing a series of upgrade steps by the ssv.network DAO Multi-Sig Committee to the SSVNetwork smart contract were deployed at 0xDD9BC35aE942eF0cFa76930954a156B3fF30a4E1 to the v1.0.0-rc3 contract.

Phase 2 — Enabling permissionless access for operators

Phase 2 successfully enabled permissionless access for operators, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of ssv.network. The primary changes included the upgrade of key smart contracts to version 1.0.2, specifically;

• SSVNetwork (0xDD9BC35aE942eF0cFa76930954a156B3fF30a4E1)
• SSVNetworkViews (0xafE830B6Ee262ba11cce5F32fDCd760FFE6a66e4).

Notable modifications in Phase 2 included in-protocol validator exits, enabling stakers to efficiently utilize their cluster operators for validator exits from the Beacon Chain. The upgrade addressed bugs identified during ssv.network DAO’s bug bounty program and incorporated changes recommended by Quantstamp’s audit, as outlined in their audit report. The ssv.network DAO Multi-Sig Committee ensured the safety and operationality of the network, conducting thorough stress testing with all involved parties.

Incentivizing DVT Adoption

Since ssv.network’s inception, the North Star has been to get the majority of staked ETH running through DVT to improve the health of the staking industry. To embrace this new standard of staking, the core team decided that network effect was the best approach (as with most of Eth’s major leaps). To do this, the core team created a trustless and permissionless DVT infrastructure layer that can be used as a building block for any staking application.

Being protocol agnostic allows SSV to cater to any of the diverse staking use cases and create various onramps to DVT-powered staking. To help incentivize DVT adoption, the SSV DAO has earmarked 1 million $SSV ($x million at current market price) to boost the ARP of validators that register to the network until October 2024 (or until the rewards run out). This means that stakers can earn extra APR by either registering their validators directly to the ssv.network or through various staking partner applications.

What’s Next for ssv.network?

Ecosystem
As time continues, the 55+ grantees in the grants program will start to go live. The SSV DAO has building and expansion of the ecosystem at the top of its list.

Apply for a grant to join the new wave of DVT-powered apps going to market.

Integrations
Many of the top-tier staking applications in the industry have started to test and integrate DVT, including StakeWise, Lido, and various others. As DVT slowly becomes the new ETH staking standard, more applications will use the network, in turn helping the proliferation of the SSV ecosystem and the overall health of Ethereum.

Events
Stay tuned for 2024’s Q1 events calendar! We can’t wait to see everyone IRL.

Thanks to everyone for joining this journey. We’re only getting started!

Thanks to the SSV DAO and SSV community, the protocol has been able to transition to this epic milestone. Community members are critical to the protocol and have been empowered to take part in DAO votes or delegate their voting power. To the various committees in the DAO responsible for grants, node operators, and more, thank you for enabling the launch of the SSV ecosystem.

Unlock the Future of ETH Staking with SSV.Network!

Join the SSV core team, contributors, and DAO members for Mainnet Call #4 on January 10, 2024! Get all the info regarding the Permissionless launch! As usual, we’ll be handing out an OAT to each viewer at the end.

We’ll be celebrating the monumental launch of SSV.Network’s fully permissionless DVT infrastructure. Witness the seamless transition to a decentralized mainnet and explore endless possibilities for builders, stakers, and node operators. Don’t miss your chance to join the network, distribute your validator, or operate a node. The new era of DVT has begun, and you’re invited to be a part of it!

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