Rocket Pool

About

Rocket Pool is a decentralized liquid staking system for Ethereum, created by David Rugendyke. It enables users to stake ETH and earn rewards without the usual 32 ETH minimum for running a validator. This makes Ethereum staking more accessible to average users who wish to join without making a large upfront payment. As a non-custodial DeFi staking platform, Rocket Pool gives users complete control over their holdings. It runs on smart contracts and a distributed network of node operators. Through rETH tokens, users can access liquid staking, which means they continue earning rewards while still being able to use their assets across Web3 and decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems. Key Features of Rocket Pool: • • Liquid Staking with rETH allows users to stake any amount of ETH (starting at 0.01 ETH) and obtain rETH, which earns dividends over time. • Flexible Unstaking allows users to unstake at any time with no minimum lock-up period. • Node Staking enables running an Ethereum node and staking ETH to earn rewards, along with RPL incentives. • DeFi Utility means rETH can be traded, used as collateral, or deployed across DeFi platforms. • RockSolid rETH Vault gives one-click access to DeFi yields and airdrop farming opportunities. • Saturn Upgrade Enhancements focus on better tokenomics, improved efficiency, and a smoother user experience for validators. • 4 ETH Validators allow users to spin up validators with just 4 ETH, lowering the usual staking requirement. Rocket Pool Milestones Year Achievements 2016-2017 Rocket Pool was started by David Rugendyke. From the beginning, the goal was clear: build a trustless and permissionless staking protocol to support Ethereum’s move to Proof of Stake. 2018-2020 During this time, the team ran several public beta tests. These helped fine-tune the “minipool” system and improve the Smart Node software. 2021 Rocket Pool went live on the Ethereum mainnet. It introduced rETH, a liquid staking token, along with 16 ETH minipools. 2022 The Redstone upgrade got the protocol ready for “The Merge.” It also added the Smoothing Pool, which shares MEV rewards across all node operators. 2023 Brought a major upgrade. The required bond for node operators dropped from 16 ETH to 8 ETH, making it easier to run validators and increasing overall capacity. 2024 The first phase of the Saturn era removed the need for a mandatory RPL bond for new minipools. This made it much easier for new operators to join.

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