The Lava Network (LAVA) is a marketplace of infrastructure providers who collectively enable users and developers to interact with blockchains, through infrastructure like RPC and APIs. This allows users to access blockchain data (like prices, transactions, and more) by leveraging a network of decentralized providers, ensuring transparency, reliability, and data accuracy without relying on centralized sources.
By incentivizing data providers to serve accurate information and penalizing those who provide incorrect data, LAVA aims to solve the problem of unreliable and centralized data in blockchain applications. To learn more about Lava Network and how it works, check out our most recent blogpost here or our comprehensive deep dive found here.
1. Install the Keplr Wallet Extension
For the focus of this guide, we recommend using the Keplr wallet. While Leap is usable, this guide will be walking through a demonstration with Keplr.
However, if you would like to use Leap wallet and stake directly to the Chorus One validator via w3coins, you can reference the quick guide below:
In case you don't have the Keplr extension installed in your browser, please visit https://www.keplr.app/ and click on 'Install Keplr'.
Click on Install Keplr for Chrome if you are using a Chrome browser or Brave if you are using the Brave browser and follow the installation instructions.
2. Create/Import an Account
Click on the extension in the Chrome/Brave toolbar and the following page will open up.
Select to either create a new wallet, import an existing wallet, or connect with a hardware wallet.
In case you do not have an existing Keplr account you can click 'Create a new wallet'.
If you already have a wallet to use, you can select 'Import an existing wallet' or you can connect with a compatible hardware wallet, such as a Ledger device.
Here you can choose between creating, importing, or associating your wallet with your Google account.
If you choose to create a new wallet you will be shown 12 words as your mnemonic seed.
Please be sure to back up your mnemonic seed securely.
Never share this seed phrase with anyone, as they will have access to your funds.
Next, enter an account name and a passphrase to lock and unlock your wallet. You will be asked for the mnemonic again.
After verifying your 12 or 24 word phrase, you will be prompted to select any other Cosmos Hub networks you'd like to add to your wallet.
No need to add any other networks if you don't plan on using them yet. You can always select more networks later.
However, it is advisable to have 'Cosmos Hub' selected when creating your new wallet.
Be sure to search for LAVA in the list in addition to Cosmos Hub.
Once you selected the relevant networks you want to use, click 'Save' and you'll be all set to go.
All set!! Your Keplr wallet is good to go!
3. Log in to your Keplr wallet
Regardless of whether you already have an wallet or if you just created it, you can now click on the Keplr extension to view your address or visit https://wallet.keplr.app/?tab=overview to see your full Keplr dashboard.
4. Stake your LAVA
If you don't already have LAVA in your wallet, you can fund it with some tokens. You may use an exchange to transfer the tokens to your address or get it from a trusted third party that already holds some.
If you want to stake from the browser extension wallet, you can either navigate to the Keplr dashboard (shown below) or scroll down on the wallet screen and select LAVA.
Alternatively, you can connect Keplr to the w3coins explorer and stake to the Chorus One validator at this address: lava@1uxmygu9mc6kzykhquzdvtqlnxcprpgjxxhf6ln
Next, you will be prompted to stake.
How to access the dashboard from the wallet browser extension
Scroll down to find LAVA or use the search bar.
Once you are on the Keplr dashboard, to stake click on the 'Stake' tab in the left hand side of the dashboard.
Once there, you will see three steps highlighted in the pink box in the screenshot below.
Scroll or through the list or search for the chain you want, in this case LAVA.
Once you've chosen the Chorus One validator, select how much LAVA you wish to stake, then click the 'Stake' button at the bottom of the screen.
Clicking on Stake will take you to Keplr wallet for approval. Approve the transaction and you will be able to see your stake.
Please note that there is a 21 day unbonding process (also known as unstaking) for LAVA.
During this period your stake no longer earns rewards and cannot be transferred, exchanged, or spent.
However, you can cancel the unstaking process if you wish without penalty.
5. Claiming Rewards
After some time you will see rewards accumulating in your wallet.
You can simply go to the Keplr dashboard to claim them by selecting 'Claim' and approving the transaction.
6. Unstaking your LAVA
If you wish to unstake your LAVA, you can do so from the same interface in Keplr that you used to stake.
Simply click on the validator you wish to unstake from and you will be prompted with the following screen.
Please note that LAVA undergoes a 21 day unbonding period when unstaking.
To proceed, click on 'Unstake' and follow the prompts to select the amount of LAVA you wish to unstake. Then confirm and sign the transaction in your wallet.
And that's it! Your LAVA will begin unbonding which you can track from your Keplr dashboard under the Staking tab.
You can view and manage all ongoing unstaking transactions (undelegations) from your Keplr dashboard and cancel them if you change your mind.
After the unbonding period is complete you will be able to transact with your unstaked LAVA again!
A Note to Institutional Investors:
If you are an institution looking to stake LAVA with Chorus One, please reach out to us via our staking request form.
About Chorus One
Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally, operating infrastructure for 60+ 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. We are a team of over 50 passionate individuals spread throughout the globe who believe in the transformative power of blockchain technology.
EigenLayer recently upgraded to M2 Contract. This made it necessary for EigenPods created prior to this to be upgraded. So if your EigenPod was created prior to Stage 2, you will need to upgrade your EigenPod per the steps below. EigenPods that were created prior to M2 contract upgrades are required to have their balances reset to zero, then generate the proofs through the EigenLayer app in order to ensure proof accounting is accurate.
Note: This guide is useful for the native restaking users who want to delegate to Chorus One operator but don’t see any restaked tokens. This can happen when you restaked before the M2 upgrade. Following this guide you will start seeing your restaked tokens which can then subsequently be delegated to Chorus One
1. Go to https://app.eigenlayer.xyz/restake and connect your wallet
2. You will see a button to upgrade your EigenPod. Click Upgrade Eignepod
3. You will be shown a fee recipient warning, review the warning and click Continue
4. In case you have accrued any Consensus Rewards you might be asked to queue the withdrawal of the rewards before you can upgrade your EigenPod. Click Confirm.
5. Observe the Restaking Activated confirmation and explanation that Restaking will be available after the next beacon state update.
6. You can wait for the amount of time mentioned in the message. Come back later and hit the restake button to Restake your ETH
7. Once you restaked your ETH you can follow the steps in this delegation guide to delegate your restaked ETH to Chorus One operator
About Chorus One
Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally, operating infrastructure for 50+ 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. We are a team of over 50 passionate individuals spread throughout the globe who believe in the transformative power of blockchain technology.
OPUS Pool, powered by Stakewise, enables you to stake any amount of ETH with Chorus One, mint osETH, and directly deposit into EigenLayer in one flow. With the launch of Delegation on Eigenlayer you can now easily delegate your restaked position to Chorus One with a single click of a button.
Not only that, users may bring in liquid staking tokens (LST's) from any external platform, including osETH, wbETH, rETH, cbETH, stETH, oETH , ankrETH , swETH, ETHx, and directly restake with EigenLayer if they wish to do so.
Start using OPUS Pool to stake ETH. Visit https://opus.chorus.one/pool/stake/
OPUS Pool facilitates greater participation in securing the network but also allows a wider range of Chorus One stakers to earn rewards and gain access to a suite of benefits, including top-tier MEV yields, low fees, and the assurance of enterprise-grade security, among others.
Opus Pool brings in a host of benefits for users. Let’s take a brief look at what you stand to gain.
1. Stake any amount of ETH and mint osETH
OPUS Pool enables a user to stake any amount of ETH (no 32 ETH minimum requirements) and receive rewards instantly. Additionally, users have the ability to mint osETH, a liquid staking derivative, and use it in DeFi or deposit into EigenLayer to gain additional rewards directly on OPUS Pool in one go.
2. Low Fees
OPUS Pool sets itself apart from current liquid staking protocols by offering users the advantage of highly competitive staking fees. At just 5%, our fees are among the lowest in the industry, making it more accessible for a broader spectrum of users to stake their ETH and earn rewards.
3. Top-tier MEV Rewards
As pioneers in MEV research, our latest ace, Adagio - an MEV-Boost client, allows for more efficient interactions with Ethereum’s transaction supply chain, directly enhancing MEV rewards for stakers. Fully integrated with OPUS Pool validators, Adagio ensures that anyone staking on OPUS Pool can benefit from these increased MEV rewards.
Want to learn more about Adagio and its mechanics? Read all about it here.
4. Restake osETH, stETH, cbETH, rETH with EigenLayer in One Go.
OPUS Pool offers a unique feature: users can deposit not only osETH minted through OPUS Pool but also liquid staking derivatives like stETH, cbETH, and rETH minted on other platforms, directly into EigenLayer.
The OPUS SDK: In addition to the benefits mentioned above, our Institutional clients can leverage the OPUS SDK to integrate ETH staking directly into their UI, providing their customers with all the benefits of the OPUS Pool seamlessly. To know more, please reach out to staking@chorus.one.
Now, let’s move on to the guide.
1. To start staking, head over to https://opus.chorus.one/pool/stake/ and connect your wallet.
2. Select your desired wallet. Note that you can use WalletConnect if you want to connect through Ledger Live.
3. Once connected, make sure you are on the Stake tab. You can see all the tabs on the left-hand-side of the screen.
3. Enter the amount you would like to stake. You can see the estimated amount of daily/monthly/yearly rewards you will earn with this amount of stake.
4. Hit Confirm and Stake button and sign the transaction in your wallet
5. Congratulations, you have now successfully staked your ETH! As a next step you can go to the dashboard to look at the summary of your staking position or you could head over to the Mint osETH section under Staking tab to mint some liquid staking tokens for your staked position
1. In case you want a liquid token representation of your stake you can head over to the Mint osETH section under the Staking tab on the left of the screen. You will see the amount of ETH you have staked. You will also see the amount of osETH you have already minted (if any).
2. Enter the amount of ETH you would like to use to mint osETH.
3. Click on Mint button and approve the transaction in your wallet
4. Congratulations! You have successfully minted osETH for your staked ETH. You can now head over to the dashboard to view your staked position and osETH summary. You can alternatively restake your osETH to Eigenlayer.
5. In case you want to reverse the minting process, you can burn your osETH to get ETH back. Select the Burn osETH section under the Staking tab on the left menu, enter the amount you would like to burn and hit Burn
6. Once you click on Burn, you will be prompted to sign the transaction in your wallet. Upon signing, you will have successfully completed the burn process
1. To deposit your osETH, or any accepted staked ETH into EigenLayer including wbETH, rETH, cbETH, stETH, oETH , ankrETH , swETH, ETHx, click on ‘Restake’ in the menu bar and select the asset you wish to deposit.
2. Note: EigenLayer intermittently pauses staking when the limits for restaking have exhausted. They usually announce the lifting of the limits on their Twitter and discord. You might encounter the following screen when there is a pause by the Eigenlayer team.
3. In case deposits into Eigenlayer are live you may select the LST that you possess, enter the desired amount that you would like to restake and hit the Restake button
4. You will be prompted to approve the restaking transaction first and then finally sign the restaking transaction in your wallet.
5.Once you sign, you will have successfully restaked to Eigenlayer. In case you delegated to Chorus One operator earlier, your restaked assets will be automatically delegated. If not, you can go back to the dashboard to delegate your assets to Chorus One or view the summary of your staked position.
1. Eigenlayer recently launched their delegation manager contract and enabled staker delegations. This will allow anyone with restaked ETH or restaked LSTs to delegate their restaked position to an operator of their choice. To delegate your stake to Chorus One, head over to the dashboard by clicking on the Dashboard button on the left navigation bar.
2. In case you have not already delegated to another operator, you can click on the Delegate to Chorus One button.
3. You will be prompted to sign a transaction in your wallet. Once you sign, you will see the following screen. Congratulations your restake position is now successfully delegated
4. Alternative, you can go directly to Eigenlayer App - https://app.eigenlayer.xyz/operator and search for Chorus One operator
5. Click on the Chorus One card that shows up
6. If you have not previously delegated to any operator, you will see a Delegate button on the right of the screen. You will also see a message “You currently have a restaked balance that is not delegated”. Click on the delegate button and sign the transaction in the wallet.
7. Congratulations you have successfully delegated your stake
Switching node operators means moving your restaked funds from supporting the original node operator supported AVSs to Chorus One supported AVSs.
Note: Switching operator requires you to sign 3 transactions. The first transaction queues the withdrawal of your restaked assets. This is a prerequisite of the Undelegation function. The second transaction undelegates your restaked position. The final transaction delegates to Chorus One. You will need to restake your assets again after you switch the operator. You may not be able to restake your assets until Eigenlayer reopens the deposit cap.
2. Click on Switch Operator and sign the transaction in the wallet
3. You will see another transaction pop up to undelegate from the operator. Sign the undelegation transaction
4. Finally you will see your wallet prompt you to sign the delegation transaction which delegates to Chorus One. This is the final transaction in this process
5. Once the transaction is confirmed you will have successfully delegated to Chorus One. Make sure to go back to the restaking tab and start restaking your assets
*Note: For the time being, please use https://app.eigenlayer.xyz/ to unstake osETH from EigenLayer.
1. To unstake from OPUS Pool, go to the Unstake Section under the ‘Staking’ tab in the menu on the left navigation bar.
2. Enter the amount of ETH you would like to unstake and hit the Unstake button
Note: If you minted osETH at any point any time against your staked position, you might have to burn that amount to unstake all your ETH
3. You will be prompted to sign the unstake transaction in your wallet. You have successfully unstaked your position. Once you unstake your ETH enters the withdrawal queue. You will see a progress bar right below the success message that lets you know the status of your withdrawable stake. Once it becomes ready for withdrawal you will see a button to claim the stake back into your wallet.
4. You can come back to the Unstake tab at a later point and check the status of your withdrawal.
2. Select the LST you want to unstake and enter the amount
3. Hit the Unstake button and sign the transaction in the wallet
4. You have successfully unstaked.
2. You will be prompted to connect your wallet. Click on the button and select your preferred wallet
3. You will be shown a screen with terms and conditions. You will need to sign the terms and conditions using your wallet
4.
5. After you sign you will be shown your connected wallet. Click on NEXT to view your Claim Eligibility
6. You will be shown the number of tokens you got.
7. Click on CLAIM NOW button to initiate the claim transaction. Go ahead and sign it in your wallet
8. Once you sign the transaction you will see the success screen as shown below
9. Your EIGEN token will start reflecting in your wallet. You can see the token contract here - https://etherscan.io/token/0xec53bf9167f50cdeb3ae105f56099aaab9061f83
10. Congratulations, you have claimed your EIGEN drop. In the next few steps, we will take you through how to restake these tokens and delegate to your favorite operator to boost your gains
11. Now you have two options. You can either use the EigenLayer guide and their instructional video OR, you can simply connect with OPUS Pool here - https://opus.chorus.one/pool/restake/ and go to the Restake page under the Eigenlayer tab.
12. You will see your EIGEN token allocation. Select the token and enter the amount you want to restake
13. Once you click on Restake you will be asked to Approve first before staking
14. Once you approve, you will be prompted to sign the actual restaking transaction
15. Congratulations you have restaked your EIGEN tokens. If you already delegated to Chorus One earlier you will see the following
If not, you can scroll up and see how to delegate to Chorus One operator
16. You can go back to the Opus dashboard to look at your assets
If you are not eligible for the airdrop you might see the following screen. Stay tuned to Chorus One twitter to get the latest updates.
Resources
About Chorus One
Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally, operating infrastructure for 50+ 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. We are a team of over 50 passionate individuals spread throughout the globe who believe in the transformative power of blockchain technology.
Step 1: Visit the EigenLayer Dapp and create an EigenPod.
Step 2: Login to your OPUS ‘Dedicated’ account at https://opus.chorus.one/.
Step 3: Create your validator/s with the withdrawal credentials pointing to your EigenPod.
Step 4:Once your validators are live, you can restake your ETH on EigenLayer.
Step 5: Click on ‘Restake’.
Step 6: Confirm transaction!
Step 7: Delegate to Chorus One.
Eigenlayer revolutionizes the Ethereum network by introducing "restaking," an innovative concept that enhances cryptoeconomic security. This novel approach allows ETH, whether staked directly or via liquid staking tokens like stETH, rETH, cbETH, and LsETH, to be rehypothecated within the consensus layer. This enhances the utility and security of staked assets.
Users engaging in Ethereum staking, either directly with ETH or through various liquid staking tokens (such as stETH, rETH, cbETH, and LsETH), have the opportunity to participate in EigenLayer's smart contracts. By opting to restake their assets, users can amplify cryptoeconomic security beyond Ethereum itself, extending it to a multitude of other applications on the network.
To learn more about EigenLayer and its technology, please visit https://www.eigenlayer.xyz/
Note: Restaking LSTs with EigenLayer is currently on hold and will resume once the deposit cap is raised. In the meantime, you are welcome to use OPUS 'Pool' to stake any amount of ETH and mint osETH. Visit OPUS 'Pool' here.
Engaging with EigenLayer by depositing your staked ETH enables you to accumulate ‘Restaked Points’, reflecting your contribution to the EigenLayer ecosystem's collective security. These points are calculated based on the duration and amount of your staking participation.
By accumulating ‘Restaked Points’, you not only enhance your rewards on your staked ETH but also become eligible for potential airdrops!
Note: Please be aware that although staked ETH deposits into EigenLayer are currently accepted and can be withdrawn at any time, rewards can only be redeemed after the launch of EigenLayer’s Mainnet and once the Activated Validator Services (AVSs) utilizing EigenLayer's pooled security become operational.
Chorus One makes the staking and restaking process straightforward and efficient.
Users can restake ETH with Chorus One using OPUS ‘Dedicated’, our ETH staking platform that supports the customization of validator withdrawal addresses to enable native staking with your EigenPod.
This underscores the importance of judiciously selecting a node operator to delegate your staked ETH to, taking into account their specific restaking and AVS strategies.
Additionally, please be aware that before restaking your ETH deposit's, withdrawal address is set only once and cannot be changed after the staking deposit. Please Choosing EigenPod Address as the withdrawal address means you accept the risks of the EigenLayer smart contract and acknowledge that Chorus One cannot alter this address.
Below, we have provided a step-by-step guide to help walk you through the process of setting up an EigenPod, creating your validator/s, depositing staked ETH into EigenLayer, and delegating to Chorus One.
Step 1: To start restaking your ETH to EigenLayer, you’ll need to first create an EigenPod on EigenLayer by visiting EigenLayer Dapp.
To begin restaking, you will first need to create an EigenPod address. This address will connect with your wallet and be used as the withdrawal address when you create a validator from the stakefish Ethereum staking dashboard.
1. Start by visiting EigenLayer Dapp and connect your wallet, making sure you’re connected to the Ethereum Mainnet. You will be prompted to sign the terms of service using your wallet. Click on Sign to enter the EigenLayer Dapp
2. Then proceed to connecting your wallet.
3. Once you have connected your wallet, click on ‘Restake your Tokens’.
4. Next, click on ‘Create EigenPod’.
The EigenPod address created is responsible for all subsequent restaking and withdrawal operations from that EigenPod.
5. Upon submitting the transaction for creating Eigenpod you will see Metamask pop up.
6. Once you have confirmed the EigenPod creation on your wallet, you will see the following screen:
7. Your EigenPod Address is now available, and will have to be used as your withdrawal address on the OPUS portal. Copy the EigenPod Address into your clipboard.
Step 2: Restaking with Chorus One
8. Login to your OPUS ‘Dedicated’ account by visiting https://opus.chorus.one/portal/login
9. Once you have entered the portal, the first step is to connect your wallet.
10. Once you have connected your wallet, you’ll need to create a validator by clicking on ‘Stake ETH’.
11. Select the amount of ETH you would like to stake.
12. Then, make sure to click on ‘Change rewards withdrawal address’, and click on ‘Edit’ .
13. Now, paste the EigenPod Address as your Withdrawal Address.
14. Once you have confirmed the addresses, click on ‘Confirm and Stake’
15. Once you confirm your transaction on your wallet, you have set up your ETH validator Chorus One.
Step 3: Restaking in Eigenlayer
16. If you have correctly set your withdrawal address as the EigenPod address, the Eigenlayer interface will start reflecting your total staked amount as restaked into Eigenlayer. Note: You do not have to perform any extra steps for restaking.
17. Note: At present, you can only deposit your staked ETH into EigenLayer; the option to delegate to node operators is not yet available.
We will notify you once the delegation feature on EigenLayer becomes operational, indicating that it's time to delegate your restaked ETH. At that point, you will be able to delegate to Chorus One with just a few clicks.
18. To delegate, click on ‘Dashboard’ and then ‘Delegate your Stake’.
19. Then, search for ‘Chorus One’ validator and click on ‘Manage’.
20. Then, click on ‘Delegate’.
21. Once you confirm your transaction on your wallet, you have successfully delegated to Chorus One!
To get started restaking, please visit the:
EigenLayer dApp at https://app.eigenlayer.xyz/
OPUS ‘Dedicated’ at https://opus.chorus.one/
If you’re interested in staking/restaking with Chorus One, or learning more, simply reach out to us by responding to this email and we’ll be happy to get back to you!
Here are some useful resources for your benefit:
Additionally, if you’d like us to share further resources on any topic, please let us know!
Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally operating infrastructure for 50+ 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.
Summary
A technical in-depth guide of our OPUS Pool to demystify pooled staking with Stakewise and restaking osETH on Eigenlayer with Chorus One.In a nutshell, the steps are as follows:
These simple steps will get you ready to participate in the restaking ecosystem. If you’re interested in reading more about what happens in each step, below we will unravel what happens under the hood.
Go to Opus Pool, connect your wallet and deposit some ETH into our Stakewise vault. Traditional staking usually requires a staker to deposit 32ETH to spin up a validator on Ethereum in order to start earning rewards. Our 1-click staking experience enables users to stake any amount, powered by Stakewise. Stakewise v3 offers a permissionless, non-custodial pooled staking solution enabling any node operator to create a “vault”. A vault is essentially an isolated staking pool managed by the node operator and providing an automated process for ETH deposits, reward distribution, and withdrawals. You can learn more about Stakewise in our extensive guide here.
Under the hood: On a more technical level, when you stake into our Stakewise Pool, the flow works as follows:
A user deposits ETH into our MAX-MeV Stakewise vault. Once enough ETH has accrued (32 ETH), we can deposit a new validator in our vault. This is done by running an additional piece of software, stakewise v3-operator, alongside our usual Ethereum validator infrastructure, which listens to Deposit events and initiates the validator registration process. This architecture offers some very unique features. For one, the permissionless onboarding. Stakewise makes it possible to create your own vault with customized experiences, such as a private vault- only allowing stake from whitelisted addresses, a public vault- allowing stake from everyone, MEV smoothing and many more. Secondly, the ability to initiate a forced-exit by the Stakewise DAO. The Ethereum protocol requires validator exit messages to be signed with the validator signing key (the key held by the node operator required to operate the validator for signing blocks and attestations).
This means that, until EIP-7002 is implemented to support signing exit messages with withdrawal credentials (the key the staker holds to withdraw their funds), users depend on the node operators to exit validators on their behalf. To remediate this potential attack vector in a fully permissionless environment, there are certain steps a node operator must go through when registering a new validator. They submit shards of their signing keys to all Oracles through a process known as Shamir-secret sharing, a secret sharing algorithm which enables trustless and secure sharing of distributed, private information. Moreover, the pre-signed exit transaction messages are sent to the oracles in an encrypted manner. This allows the DAO to exit a validator on their behalf, should a node operator go rogue. Once oracles have approved registration, the operator sends the validator registration transaction to the so-called Keeper contract- essentially the brain in the architecture- which executes the deposit on-chain. EIP-7002 is still in its design phase, but it will open up new solutions to remove the need for Oracles by enabling the execution layer to trigger validator exits under certain conditions.
After a successful validator registration process, we’re ready to run a validator and collect rewards in our vault. Similarly to other liquid staking protocols, Stakewise relies on several oracles to fetch rewards from the Beacon Chain. Since The Merge, Ethereum’s architecture consists of the Consensus Layer (“Beacon Chain” which contains the consensus state and validator management) and the Execution Layer (“the EVM” which handles execution payloads, maintains a mempool of transactions). While combining both layers facilitated an easy transition to a Proof-of-Stake chain, it left the communication between both layers via Engine API somewhat limited- the Consensus Layer can query the Execution layer, but not the other way round. Essentially this means there’s no trustless way for the EVM to connect to the Beacon Chain to e.g. fetch validator rewards data. As a workaround, Stakewise employs trusted Oracles which regularly fetch rewards data from the Beacon Chain and vote for the rewards/penalties from all vaults. The vault rewards are saved as a Merkle tree and uploaded to IPFS, e.g see this example. The Merkle root is saved in the Keepers contract, again, the brain of our architecture. If you’re not familiar with Merkle trees, proofs and roots, they are one of the founding blocks of how Ethereum works, here’s a recommended read.
Essentially, it’s a data structure that helps us verify data consistency and make efficient proofs of inclusion (Merkle-proofs) to verify a piece of data is in the tree. More concretely, since the Merkle root is stored in the Keepers contract, it’s easy to verify that the stored Merkle tree hasn’t been tampered with.
To keep a vault’s state up to date, the Keeper contract needs to be “harvested”, meaning that the vault can fetch the Merkle root from the Keeper and derive validators rewards/penalties to update its state. If the state isn’t updated in a specified timeframe, any user interaction will be blocked.
With EIP-4788, which is implemented in the upcoming Dencun Upgrade (currently being rolled out to all testnets), the parent (previous) beacon block root will be included directly into the execution block enabling the EVM to access the block root from a trusted source, and thus removing the need for an Oracle and instead, enshrining it in the protocol. The way it will work is similar to the implemented workaround- the parent beacon block root represents the hash of the entire header of the previous block. A smart contract deployed on Ethereum will hold a limited number of parent beacon block roots, such that the execution layer can derive the consensus state in a trustless manner.
With this foundational knowledge in mind, let’s look at a specific example transaction of someone depositing 0.01 ETH into our Stakewise vault:
You can see the address which deposited 0xe46825... calls the deposit function on the Chorus One vault address 0xe6d8d8… . As we mentioned in the previous section, the v3-operator listens to DepositEvents emitted. Looking at the event logs, we get a good glimpse into what happens when you deposit into a vault:
The address is recorded along with the amount of your stake (assets), resulting in a number of “shares”which are calculated as follows: assets * total shares in vault / total assets in vault, see contract code for reference. The calculated shares will be the indicator how much of the rewards accrued by the Ethereum validator will be paid out to the staking address.
Once you’ve deposited successfully in our Stakewise vault, you can go ahead and mint your osETH in 1-click. The minted osETH should be visible in your wallet after the transaction was successful. If it’s not visible, you may need to add the token manually, e.g. for MetaMask see this resource.
Under the hood: As mentioned above, Stakewise offers a liquid staking token called osETH to provide liquidity to its stakers. This is a fantastic improvement on the staking experience, because you get a representation of your staked ETH which you can use to earn additional yield in the DeFi world. During vault setup, a node operator may choose to configure a vault that allows to mint an ERC20 token or whether the vault is tokenless. The issued liquid staking token- osETH- is overcollateralized, meaning the underlying assets in the vault are worth more than the osETH issued in order to cover potential losses from slashing. The biggest risk for staking is the risk of getting slashed, e.g due to double signing, which could result in losing part of the stake. Slashing is usually the consequence of bad key management practices that optimise for speed rather than consistency. It’s therefore important for node operators to apply sound security and key management practices, in order to minimize the risk.
One interesting feature of osETH is that it has a built-in slashing protection mechanism for its stakers. During the minting process you might have noticed that you can only mint up to 90% of the staked ETH. The excess backing insures stakers against poor staking performance or slashing events. Such penalties are absorbed by the excess backing.
To keep track of this, Stakewise defines a certain parameter known as “position health” which monitors the value of osETH minted relative to the value of their ETH currently staked in the Vault (see in screenshot above). The value can be Healthy/Moderate/Risky/Unhealthy. A “Healthy” position means that minted osETH doesn’t exceed 90% of the staked ETH. If the value of minted osETH grows faster and suddenly exceeds 92% of the staked ETH in the vault, the position status will move to “Unhealthy”. Let’s look at a concrete example: Imagine a user minted osETH against a staked position worth 100 ETH in Vault X. Suddenly, Vault X decided to increase its fees much higher than other vaults. During an incident, the node operator was forced to migrate their keys and started producing inconsistent attestations and downtime causing inactivity leaks all resulting in penalties and lower profit accrued in the vault. On top of that the bull market hits and demand for Ethereum validator exceeds current supply making the validator activation queue extremely long, but still growing overall TVL. A month later the minted osETH is now worth 92.01 ETH, making the user's position status "Unhealthy" and opening up for liquidation because the value of minted osETH relative to their ETH stake exceeds the liquidation threshold, i.e. is >92% enabling the DAO to liquidate a vault (if you remember, they have the ability to exit validators on a node operator's behalf), in order to ensure the excess backing of osETH.
The final step in our OPUS Pool journey let’s you restake your freshly minted osETH and other liquid staking tokens with EigenLayer.
Now what’s Eigenlayer and why will it bring more yield? To sum it up: “Restaking offers stakers the flexibility to contribute to the security of multiple networks, potentially earning rewards, verifying trust, or engaging in blockchain events. Users that stake $ETH can opt-in to EigenLayer smart contracts to restake their $ETH and extend cryptoeconomic security to additional applications on the network”. To read more about how it works, head to our blog article on Eigenlayer.
Under the hood: As of the time of writing, no AVS are live on mainnet yet. Until the EigenLayer protocol goes live with EigenDA (AVS developed by the EigenLayer team), restakers will receive restaked points as a measure of the user’s contribution to the pooled security, while securing the opportunity to be rewarded as an early restaker. Once AVSs go live, you will be able to delegate to Chorus One and receive rewards from your restaked ETH or Liquid Staking Tokens. This graph below shows what will happen once we enter this Stage:
The (re-)staker deposits their osETH (or other Liquid Staking Tokens) into the EigenLayer StrategyManager contract, which is responsible for accounting and allowing restakers to deposit LSTs into the given strategy contract. When users deposit into the StrategyManager, the funds are transferred to the respective LST’s StrategyBaseTVLLimits contract e.g. osETH or stETH, which returns shares proportionally to the users stake. The number of shares is calculated using an internal exchange rate which depends on the total number of deposits.
Here’s an example transaction of a user depositing osETH into the StrategyManager via our OPUS Pool. The event logs show the address where the funds were deposited from (depositor), the address of the token contract (in this case osETH token contract), and the address of the strategy contract (the address of the osETH strategyBaseTvlLimits contract).
Once the AVSs go live on mainnet, restakers will be able to delegate their LSTs to Chorus One. This is done by calling a function on the DelegationManager which manages delegation and undelegation of the stakers to operators. As of now, this functionality is paused, so stay tuned for the next EigenLayer mainnet upgrade and don’t miss your chance to delegate your restaked tokens to your favourite node operator.
A step-by-step guide to staking ETH on OPUS Pool
Restake with EigenLayer Seamlessly via Chorus One's OPUS Pool: A Detailed Guide
Learn more about Adagio, Chorus One’s pioneering Ethereum MEV-Boost client
MEV Max - Introducing Chorus One’s Liquid Staking Pool on Stakewise V3
Considerations on the Future of Ethereum Staking
Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally operating infrastructure for 50+ 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.
Chorus One has launched our liquid staking pool on Stakewise v3, enabling individuals to stake any amount of ETH and benefit from Chorus One’s enterprise-grade staking infrastructure and highest MEV yields! This article provides a step-by-step guide on how you can stake any amount of ETH on Chorus One’s vault, known as MEV Max.
To start staking on MEV Max, visit here.
Stakewise v3, introduced by the Stakewise DAO in 2022, addresses the challenge of stake centralization on Ethereum. The traditional complexity of setting up validators, including a 32ETH minimum requirement, technical demands, and the risk of financial penalties, has led to a decline in individual ETH staking. Stakewise v3 combats this by enhancing its liquid staking solution with mini staking pools called "Vaults." These Vaults make it possible for anyone to set up and run ETH nodes, mint osETH, accept delegations, or delegate ETH across multiple nodes in ambition to promote decentralization and mitigate network concentration. Vaults are completely customized by their operators, according to the configurations of their choice, fostering a diverse marketplace of ETH staking solutions.
Chorus One is expanding the possibilities of V3’s Vaults by extending our MEV optimization strategies beyond a select group of customers to encompass ALL ETH stakers. We hold decentralization as a core value, and through our partnership with Stakewise, take immense pride in making our enterprise staking infrastructure to everyone - all without any minimum requirements to stake ETH.
Below, we provide a brief breakdown of the various methods available for staking ETH and minting osETH with Chorus One. For a comprehensive understanding of the benefits associated with staking your ETH on Chorus One's liquid staking pools, we've covered all the details here. Check it out!
Chorus One's public vault invites users to stake any amount of ETH and mint osETH, enjoying the benefits of our enterprise-grade staking infrastructure, proven MEV strategies, world-class security measures, and network expertise. Access Chorus One’s Public Vault here.
We will also have private, tailor-made vaults for clients seeking individual, personalized agreements for their staked capital. With these private pools, user assets stay separate and are not commingled with other Vaults, thus offering the perks of liquid staking with enhanced security and all the other benefits Chorus One has to offer—higher MEV yields, top-notch security, network expertise, and more. To launch Private Vault with Chorus One, please reach out to us at staking@chorus.one.
In addition, we're making liquid staking more accessible to both our existing and new OPUS customers. Soon, our public pool will be seamlessly integrated into our Staking Dashboard, allowing OPUS users to dive into liquid staking, mint osETH, and leverage it in DeFi or hold it—all with just a few clicks! Stay tuned for more updates coming your way soon!
Now, moving on the staking guide.
6. After a few minutes, your transaction will be completed.
To learn more about our partnership with Stakewise, set up a private vault with Chorus One, or for any other queries, please reach out to us at staking@chorus.one
About Chorus One
Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally operating infrastructure for 45+ 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.
We’re immensely proud to support staking for Celestia - the first modular blockchain network that is optimized for ordering transaction data and making it available- as a genesis validator!
Celestia is a modular network that makes it easy for builders to launch their own blockchain by focusing solely on data availability. It allows developers to easily deploy blockchains on top of Celestia, much like deploying smart contracts. This accessibility empowers individuals to create their own unique rollups and blockchains, serving a multitude of purposes and ensuring scalability for a broader audience.
Celestia's data availability layer introduces innovative features like data availability sampling (DAS) and Namespaced Merkle trees (NMTs). DAS allows light nodes to verify data without downloading entire blocks, reducing costs compared to monolithic chains, while NMTs enable execution and settlement layers on Celestia to download transactions that are only relevant to them. Celestia offers its data availability layer to other chains for publishing data by paying for blobspace.
We've covered everything you need to know about Celestia in 10 questions - find it here!
As a permissionless network, Celestia uses Proof-of-Stake to secure its own chain. Like any other Cosmos network, users can help secure the network and engage in governance by delegating their TIA to a validator like Chorus One.
The following guide explains how you can stake your TIA easily with Chorus One.
TL;DR
Step 1: Login to https://wallet.keplr.app/ and search for Celestia
Step 2: Select the Chorus One validator
Step 3: Enter the amount of TIA you want to stake
Step 4: Approve the transaction. You have successfully staked TIA with Chorus One!
*Note that this guide has been written using the Celestia Mocha Testnet as it was written prior to Mainnet, however the steps remain the same.
After a few seconds, the transaction will be completed. You have now successfully staked TIA with Chorus One using Keplr!
If you have any support queries, please send a request at https://support.chorus.one/hc/en-us. If you would like to learn more about Celestia or start staking TIA with Chorus One, please reach out to us at staking@chorus.one
About Chorus One
Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally operating infrastructure for 45+ 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.
We've developed a unique bridging solution that makes it possible for users to move their dYdX tokens to Cosmos, AND stake the tokens - all in just one go! To bridge and stake your DYDX, visit our novel bridging page
Who is this guide for: Users who wish to move their DYDX tokens from Ethereum to Cosmos + stake their tokens with Chorus One.
If you already have your DYDX tokens in the Cosmos ecosystem, you can stake them directly using your Keplr wallet, as explained here.
Step 1: Connect your Ethereum and Cosmos Wallets on Chorus One’s bridging page
Step 2: Enter the amount you want to Bridge and Stake
Step 3: Approve the Chorus One Bridge to interact with your wallet in order to stake your DYDX tokens
Step 4: Pre-Sign the transaction on your Cosmos/Keplr Wallet
Step 5: After 48 hours, your staking transaction will be completed through Chorus One!
Introducing Chorus One's Bridge and Stake solution for DYDX
The DYDX token, part of dYdX v4, serves a multi-faceted role. It empowers users to actively engage in governance decisions while also playing a crucial role in maintaining the network's operations and enhancing its security by staking their tokens.
To use and stake dYdX v4 tokens, the dYdX Chain needs to onboard users from various platforms, including rollups, Ethereum L1, other app-chains, and centralized exchanges, to its Cosmos version. Traditionally, bridging tokens from Ethereum to the Cosmos ecosystem has been a cumbersome activity.
To simplify the process and make staking on Cosmos a breeze for our customers, we have developed a novel solution, using dYdX's original bridging smart contract, that enables you to move your DYDX tokens from Ethereum to Cosmos in a swift, seamless transaction. Not only that, our bridging solution also allows you to stake your DYDX in the same flow, providing added convenience and efficiency!
To recap, dYdX v4 is the latest iteration of dYdX, one of the most prominent decentralized exchanges and premier trading platform for cryptocurrency. The DEX initially launched as an Ethereum-based Layer 2 solution and has now made a significant move by transitioning to its dedicated blockchain, known as the dYdX Chain (or dYdX v4), built using the Cosmos SDK. We've compiled all the essential information about the chain, complete with an in-depth exploration of their move to Cosmos and Chorus One's ongoing involvement with dYdX since the very outset. Check it out here.
1- Bridge & Stake in just 1 transaction: Our bridge offers a remarkably streamlined process for transferring DYDX tokens from Ethereum to Cosmos, setting a new standard in the industry. But it doesn't end here. You can take it a step further by staking your DYDX within the same transaction, allowing you to bridge and stake your DYDX simultaneously in one smooth action.
2- Simplified Onboarding: Our solution enables users from diverse platforms, including rollups, Ethereum L1, other app-chains, and centralized exchanges, to seamlessly join the dYdX Chain on Cosmos.
3- Security Assurance: Our bridging solution is underpinned by a meticulously audited smart contract, ensuring a straightforward and secure staking experience for users. The bridge contract underwent a thorough audit during its development by dYdX. Additionally, when it comes to our frontend and backend, we've adhered to strict secure software development practices as outlined by ISO requirements.
With an understanding of why we developed this bridging solution and how it enhances your staking experience, let’s proceed to a step-by-step walkthrough of utilizing our bridge.
*Since DYDX inflation goes to traders, dYdX stakers, in contrast, will receive 100% of the trading fees that are paid out in USDC.
2. To begin staking DYDX tokens with Chorus One, visit Chorus One’s bridging page and connect a) the Ethereum wallet that has DYDX tokens and b) the target Cosmos wallet where you wish to transfer the tokens to.
The next step helps you to pre-sign the staking transaction so that the tokens will be staked as soon as they reach the dYdX Chain, and you will be notified by us when the process has been completed if you choose to submit your email address.
We’re happy to answer any questions you may have! For any support queries, please visit here. Alternatively, if you’d like to learn more about staking with Chorus One, get started with staking, or anything else, please reach out to us at staking@chorus.one
About Chorus One
Chorus One is one of the biggest institutional staking providers globally operating infrastructure for 45+ 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.