Eth 2.0 Deposit Contract Launched - Decentralise #15
Understanding The Roadmap and Staking Resources
What’s Happening?
Yesterday the Eth 2.0 deposit contract went live. Hooray!
The news sent tremors through the interwebs, bringing together the Ethereum community against the backdrop of a deeply divided US presidential election.
Eth 2.0 is the network upgrade that sees Ethereum transition from a Proof of Work mining consensus algorithm to a Proof of Stake design. The upgrade will dramatically increase the protocol’s scalability, decentralisation, and energy efficiency.
With the deposit contract launch the community has crossed the first hurdle on the way to 2.0, which has been described as the hardest step. Listen to the recent Bankless podcast with Danny Ryan for a detailed breakdown and see his announcement here.
The Ethereum 2.0 upgrade distributes the network across validators, with users needing 32 Ether to get involved and help secure the network. For this service validators will be rewarded with a variable return, which is factored by the number of participators.
The initial launch of the deposit contract allows validators to move Eth to what will become the backbone of the Eth 2.0 network. You can think of it as essentially shifting train tracks.
The genesis time has been set for December 1st, 2020 at 12pm UTC, after which validators will begin earning rewards for their participation.
Get started with a staking introduction from r/ethstaker member Superphiz’s EthOnline talk, or Ryan Sean Adam’s Validator guide in Bankless.
A word of warning
We’re all excited by the announcement, but it’s important to be careful here.
Firstly, watch out for scammers. It’s best not to trust links from anybody, and go directly to the desposit contract yourself.
ENS has configured depositcontract.eth, but there have already been a swathe of scammers looking to impersonate the official contract.
Get started with the official launchpad, available here.
Remember, this is a one way transfer and your Ether will be locked on the new network, which might not be fully operational for a year or longer. Setting up a validator is a commitment to the future of the network.
Some misconceptions about the roadmap
Danny recently drew attention to the slightly misleading naming of the Eth 2.0 roadmap.
The phases sound like a sequential progression, with one phase beginning after the other ends. This is not accurate, in actual fact development has progressed in parallel and we’re well on our way.
Meseeking made a handy visual explaining this concept.
Wrapping Up
Eth 2.0 has been a promised land for the community, and props to everyone who’s held firm in their convictions throughout the long bear market.
Although today is just the first step, it’s a significant milestone and deserves to be celebrated as such.
I’d like to take a second to express huge gratitude to the hard working developers who made this possible.
Whether part of a team or an individual contributor, you don’t get enough credit for the work you do to make this community what it is. Thank you.
I’ll be writing more posts on the multiple clients available you can use to participate, as well as more staking guides and analysis in the future. If that sounds interesting then be sure to subscribe.
Resources
In the meantime, here’s a few resources to dive into for the latest Ethereum news and developments.
What’s New In Eth 2.0 by Ben Edgington
Ethereum Foundation Blog (including Eth 2.0 quick updates from Danny Ryan)
Validator Guide by Ryan Sean Adams at Bankless
Week in Ethereum News by Evan Van Ness
Community spotlight:
r/EthFinance subreddit, one of Reddit’s top rated communities for Ethereum news, analysis and wider Ethereum ecosystem discussion.
r/EthStaker and EthStaker discord, a community of users helping each other set up validators.