After a record breaking event in Paris last year, EthCC, the premier European Ethereum conference returns on Monday 17 July for its sixth installation.

Chorus One is thrilled to be part of this dynamic gathering, where crypto enthusiasts from around the world convene. As we gear up to immerse ourselves in the event and share the latest developments in staking, we want to provide you with a closer look at our agenda, activities, and where to find us.

Over four days, EthCC will attract more than 4,000 industry leaders from the realms of finance and digital assets to explore the evolution of crypto and community. Through engaging fireside chats, thought-provoking panels, and invaluable networking opportunities, the conference will cover a wide range of crypto verticals, spanning from blockchain economics to rollups and gaming.

Our Chief Executive Officer, Brian Fabian Crain will take on the illustrious Versailles stage to lead a workshop delving into the significance of the Urbit ecosystem. Mark your calendar here.

Additionally, we invite you to join us for the sessions by our Research Analyst and Ethereum Expert, Gabriella Sofia and our Engineering Team Lead, Jennifer Parak. Gabriella will provide an analytical exploration, predicting the trillion-dollar potential of Ethereum staking. Catch her presentation at Saint Victor at 2:35 pm CEST on July 18.

Jennifer, on the other hand, will unveil her optimized Ethereum validator key-gen tool, "Eth-staking-smith," designed to streamline validator key management at scale. Be sure to attend her talk at Saint Victor at 2:10 pm on July 20.

In addition to Brian, Gabriella, and Jennifer, other Chorus One attendees you can expect to meet at the event, include:

Vic Kaul, Xavier Meegan, Michael Moser, Yannick Socolov, Luis Nuñez Clavijo, Albert Poetzsch, Anita Zaman, Neal Roche, Alexis Tabak

To schedule a meeting, reach out to us at: staking@chorus.one

See you there!

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About Chorus One

Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally operating infrastructure for 40+ Proof-of-Stake networks including Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, Avalanche, and Near amongst others. Since 2018, we have been at the forefront of the PoS industry and now offer easy enterprise-grade staking solutions, industry-leading research, and also invest in some of the most cutting-edge protocols through Chorus Ventures.

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Archway Network is a novel blockchain platform that has garnered attention from developers and enthusiasts. Powered by Cosmos SDK, Tendermint, and CosmWasm, Archway boasts a robust architecture emphasizing speed, scalability, and security. Its standout feature is seamless interoperability through the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, enabling smooth data and value exchange between different blockchains. With its innovative features and developer-centric focus, Archway Network emerges as a prominent player in the blockchain landscape.

1. To start staking $ARCH, log in to a Cosmos network compatible wallet on the browser of your choice. We have chosen Leap wallet on the Brave browser.

Ensure that you have the Leap wallet extension downloaded and enabled in your browser.

2. Then, log into your wallet.

Ensure that you have sufficient $ARCH tokens for staking.

3. If you don’t already have $ARCH tokens, visit https://docs.archway.io/developers/guides/faucet to receive some tokens from the Archway Discord channel.

4. Once you have $ARCH in your wallet, click on the ‘Stake’ button in the bottom row.

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5. Then, click on ‘Stake’ and search for ‘Chorus One’ amongst the list of validators.

6. Enter the amount of $ARCH you would like to stake. Make sure not to delegate all your tokens, as you will need to pay transactions fees in case you want to undelegate.

7. Finally, review and confirm the transaction.

You have now successfully staked $ARCH with Chorus One!

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About Chorus One

Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally operating infrastructure for 40+ Proof-of-Stake networks including Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, Avalanche, and Near amongst others. Since 2018, we have been at the forefront of the PoS industry and now offer easy enterprise-grade staking solutions, industry-leading research, and also invest in some of the most cutting-edge protocols through Chorus Ventures.

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Ethereum Stake and Unstake 101

We take a look at expected times to participate in Ethereum staking.

Ethereum protocol times are measured in epochs, with 1 epoch being 384 seconds or around 6 and a half minutes. For ease of understanding, times based on these measurements have been translated roughly into minutes, hours and days.

Staking

• Every signed transaction visits the Ethereum mempool first, which can be referred to as the waiting room for transactions. Here the pending time is unknown, and will depend on network status, chosen gas fee and priority fee.
• Deposited - Once the transaction reaches the deposit contract (assuming it’s correct), the validator has a status of Deposited, meaning it has been accepted by the Execution Layer. At this point, the Consensus side is unaware of this deposit. Here there’s a waiting mechanism that is a legacy of our pre-Merge past, used to avoid the minuscule possibility of a chain reorg (might be removed in the future). The validator sits here for ~7 and a half hours.
• Pending - Once the deposit agreement has been finally accepted by the Consensus Layer, it moves to Pending state, meaning it has been added to the “staking queue”. Ethereum only allows a small number of validators to start or stop validating at a time ~(2025* a day), to maintain stability of the validator set. This takes from at least 25 minutes but can extend depending on the queue; right now it’s ~6 weeks. Timing can impacted with churn rate changes, so this exact time might be slightly lower.

Pending Validators

 88,885 / 25

 Source: https://beaconcha.in/

• Active - The validator is attesting to and proposing blocks. This is the state where you earn rewards!

Conclusion: Staking takes at least 8 hours, but it is very likely to take a lot longer as the demand to stake grows and more validators are added to the queue (the queue at the time of writing is 88,885 validators waiting). The waiting time right now is about a month and a half.

Unstaking

• Exiting - The validator is in the process of halting attesting to and proposing blocks. This means you have signed a valid voluntary exit or you’ve been slashed. Either way, you need to keep up your duties for now. When in exiting state, it means you’ve been added to the “withdrawal queue”. To move through this queue takes at least 25 minutesbut can extend depending on the queue; right now it’s 25.

Pending Validators

88,885 / 25

Source: https://beaconcha.in/

• Slashing - Slashing is a very small risk in Ethereum, but for informational purposes, let’s talk about this state. The validator is in the process of halting attesting to and proposing blocks, having been caught violating some consensus rule. You still have to perform duties, but you will get kicked out of the set. You also move through the queue but you’ll need 36 days to access the funds to account for extra penalties.
• Exited - The validator is no longer attesting or proposing, you are safe to disconnect the node clients. After exit there is one final delay of approximately 1 day before funds can be transferred to the withdrawal address.

Conclusion: Unstaking takes at least 25 minutes, but can vary depending on the withdrawal queue with a similar model as staking (the queue right now is 25 validators waiting and is expected to clear quite quickly). You also have a 1 day delay to access funds. So, all in all the waiting time right now is about 1 day.

* This number corresponds to the churn rate applied to the staking and withdrawal queues. For every 65,536 additional validators that are active on the Ethereum network, the number of new validators that can be activated per epoch increases by one, and the number of validator exits that can be processed per epoch also increases by one. Right now, the churn rate is 9.

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In the interest of safeguarding investors from potential staking penalties, Chorus One is proud to partner with Nexus Mutual, the leading decentralised coverage provider, to introduce a range of staking coverage options for our customers. As an industry leader, we are the first node operator to purchase on-chain staking coverage to protect our customers through Nexus Mutual’s innovative tokenised cover.

Our aim is to shield our diverse clientele—including custodians, trusts, enterprises, individuals, and others—from any risks associated with staking penalties, to ensure peace of mind and uninterrupted growth. This coverage reinforces Chorus One’s risk management strategies to proactively fortify our customers’ staked funds.

Complementary base cover on staked ETH

In light of our partnership with Nexus Mutual, we are pleased to offer complementary base coverage on Ethereum staked through OPUS for all customers until the end of 2023. Additionally, clients may opt for upgradable coverage on other networks supported by Chorus One upon request. For information regarding this promotion, or to explore coverage options for other networks, please reach out to us at staking@chorus.one.

Nexus Mutual

Nexus Mutual is a decentralised coverage protocol that allows its members to join and share risk. Members are empowered to purchase cover products that protect against various kinds of risks, including staking penalties like slashing. By leveraging their infrastructure, our clients can conveniently access cover, underwrite risks, manage claims, and build resilient risk management strategies through Chorus One.

How does it work?

Nexus Mutual’s tokenised cover permits Chorus One to acquire coverage for various digital assets, represented as ERC-721 NFTs. They offer transparent and auditable claims assessment, which can be accessed by anyone through the Nexus Mutual protocol on Ethereum. Storing data on-chain allows anyone to review Nexus Mutual’s history of claim decisions and payouts.

Unlike traditional insurance, claims are processed in a matter of days and payouts are redeemable as soon as a claim has been approved. Nexus Mutual provides an enhanced claims experience for our customers by eliminating the need for third-party involvement or delays. Additionally, the protocol is designed to reward honest behaviour and penalise fraudulent activities. Learn more about the claims design and how Nexus Mutual protects against fraud protection in their documentation.

What is slashing?

Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks offer immense growth potential for blockchain transactions. However, not all PoS networks are equal, and they introduce new responsibilities and risks for token holders. One such risk is slashing, which involves penalising validators who engage in dishonest or inactive behavior on the network. Slashing can take different forms, such as losing a predefined percentage of a validator's stake or being completely removed from the network for the current epoch or permanently.

At Chorus One, we recognise the severity of such circumstances. That’s why our robust, on-chain coverage forms an integral part of our comprehensive risk management strategy, aiming to protect all of our clients. Stay tuned for an upcoming article where we will delve further into staking penalties and Chorus One's proactive risk management practices.

"When staking your ETH, even with the best technical set-up and expertise, mistakes can happen and slashing can occur. The most professional operators recognize this and put in place protection for their users. We're excited to work with Chorus One to make staking your ETH safer." - Hugh Karp, Founder, Nexus Mutual

"At Chorus One, security holds the utmost importance as we deeply value the trust and peace of mind it brings to investors. As responsible node operators, we prioritise establishing a solid foundation of trust with our investors, ensuring the safety of their assets. Through our partnership with Nexus Mutual, we aim to offer comprehensive protection against potential asset loss arising from staking penalties." - Vic Kaul, Business Development Lead, Chorus One

About Nexus Mutual

Nexus Mutual is a decentralised insurance alternative built on the Ethereum blockchain and the leading provider of crypto-native coverage. To date, Nexus Mutual members have protected more than $4.4b in crypto assets and have paid out $17.9m in claims. The mutual was created to give people a way to hedge against the unique risks in on-chain markets.

Learn more about Nexus Mutual by visiting nexusmutual.io.

About Chorus One

Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally operating infrastructure for 40+ Proof-of-Stake networks including Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, Avalanche, and Near amongst others. Since 2018, we have been at the forefront of the PoS industry and now offer easy enterprise-grade staking solutions, industry-leading research, and also invest in some of the most cutting-edge protocols through Chorus Ventures.

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