Impact staking: GiveDirectly and execution layer returns
It has been a strong summer, filled with hard work and the creation of useful things. I would like to share what has been accomplished and what is currently under development. Impact Staking Impact Staking lies at the core of Launchnodes’ philosophy on what staking should be about. I’ve always viewed staking as a fixed […]
SSV mainnet goes live: Comments from a verified node operator
Hello Solo Stakers, It has been a while. Summer is in its final two weeks in Europe, and the SSV network is finally live on mainnet. I would like to offer the SSV team my congratulations and thanks for building useful software that works and putting it into production. What is SSV and why do […]
Ethereum started looking like an ordinary tech stock?
In January 2022, I noted that when interest rates rise, Ethereum and other digital assets would look a lot more like tech stocks and lose value. Meanwhile, the dreamy alternative narratives about stores of value and new decentralised la-la lands would burn faster than Europe’s moral authority as it failed to protect Ukraine with air […]
Is Eigenlayer another reason to solo stake – or a weapon of financial mass destruction?
Like many others, we are very excited about Eigenlayer. The concept is this: using Ethereum’s base capital on the Beacon chain as a synthetic layer to enable other chains and builders to focus on functionality, without the need to conduct ICOs or build staking and liquidity for questionable coins. It is a remarkable innovation. Eigenlayer […]
Don’t trust us (or anybody else) with your validator nodes and staking infrastructure
A critical and early part of our sales process involves explaining to customers what would happen if Launchnodes was no longer operating, if we were not an existing business anymore. We don’t wait for customers to ask the question, we lead with it. After all, these are the young teenage years of an industry that […]
Ethereum Solo Staking Withdrawals FAQ
Solo staking is choosing an Ethereum client and running both an execution layer client and consensus layer client to run an Ethereum node, connect it to the internet, and depositing 32 ETH to activate a validator, giving you the ability to participate directly in network consensus. Solo staking is about running your nodes on infrastructure […]
Wearing your big girl and big boy pants: Why self custody of digital assets is so Important
The company we keep… The word ‘company’ is based on 12th-century French, compagnie, a “society, friendship, intimacy; body of soldiers”, and this hails from the Late Latin phrase companio, “one who eats bread with you”. Commerce was then, we can conclude, initially synonymous with social ties. At the heart of these social ties is the idea of trust. […]
Shanghai makes life harder for Staking as a Service Providers, and Kraken gets put on the naughty step
The Shanghai upgrade, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announcement re Kraken being fined $30 Million USD, and having to close all staking operations, and what these mean for Staking as a Service providers, have been on my mind this week. I’ll talk about these things in this update. Secular stagnation is on my mind, […]
2023: What will Ethereum look like in a world with high interest rates?
I know I’m in the minority. I see Ethereum as a shared database where a currency emerges from the requirement to incentivise good sharing; most see it as a volatile asset class. What is the outlook for Ethereum in 2023? As is our norm, let’s start with the data. 15,903,886 TOTAL ETH STAKED 496,996.438 TOTAL […]
Ethereum Staking as a Service Providers: Under pressure
Firstly let me start by saying Staking as a Service providers are an important and useful part of the Ethereum staking ecosystem. They are good people doing good work and I wish all of them wealth and health. However, as we have seen customers move away from Staking as a Service providers to become solo […]
