The initiative has come against the backdrop of rising interest for long-drawn ETH 2.0, which will incorporate a PoS (Proof-of-Stake) consensus protocol in Ethereum (ETH) blockchain.
The launch will generate fees for a network of validators in return for safeguarding the Ethereum network. Validators are necessary to hold a minimum of 32 Ether.
James Slazas, chief executive of DARMA Capital, explained ETH’s PoS amendment as “a pivotal moment for both Ethereum and the Web 3.0 ecosystem.” Several third-party staking solutions are being unveiled as some of the likely stakers are ready to give up a share of their rewards in return for custody and management facilities. Rest of them do not have enough ETH i.e., 32 to stake.
Tim Lowe, Codefi Staking product head said “Some of the risks associated with running your own validator include theft or loss of withdrawal keys, incorrect transfer of funds to the [ETH 2.0] deposit contract, and not to mention hardware or internet connectivity failures which result in a loss of validator rewards.”
He further stated “With ConsenSys Codefi, validator keys are held in a secure vault with online signing capability, and there will be multiple layers of gatekeepers validating transactions preventing unauthorized usage.”
Optimism for staking services also reflected in the form of a surge in the price of RPL token, which is the native crypto of Rocket Pool, an ETH 2.0 staking pool focusing on investors possessing less than 32 Ether.
Between mid-March and mid-May, RPL rallied more than 950% from approximately $0.30 to a record high of $3.20. From then onwards, RPL underwent a price correction to $1.90.
.@binance, @cryptocom, @DARMACapital, @HuobiWallet, @realMatrixport, and @TrustologyIO join @ConsenSysCodefi Staking Pilot Program, for early access to an Ethereum 2.0 staking solution. #CodefiStaking
— ConsenSys (@Consensys) June 16, 2020
In spite of the expectation, ETH 2.0’s launch has seen consistent postponements. A year back, the Ethereum Foundation’s Justin Drake was planning for a genesis date of January 3, 2020.
It was later postponed to mid-2020. Consensys core programmer John Wolpert stated that he was “very impressed with the maturity […] of the Ethereum core dev guys” for having a firm stance and denying “to sell the soup until it’s soup” in spite of complaints from the community regarding the postponements.