Follow this step-by-step guide to stake your Bitcoin (BTC) to the Babylon protocol via Chorus One’s Finality Provider. [using Staking Rewards]
Important to note:
It is recommended that you have Step 1 prepared ahead of time, to be ready for when BTC staking goes live.
Bitcoin (BTC) staking on Babylon will be activated once the BTC block height passes 857909. At this exact point, the “Stake Now” button will be activated in the Stake App and BTC staking transactions can be submitted.
For the Babylon’s Phase 1 mainnet, the Stake App will only support BTC staking via OKX Wallet. Install the OKX wallet browser extension and deposit your BTC before proceeding to the next step.
Note: When setting up and funding your wallet, it is important to:
(1) not use a hardware a wallet (such as Ledger), aside from Keystone QR code either directly or through other software wallets and
(2) not use a wallet that holds any Bitcoin Inscriptions.
(3) choose either Native Segwit or Taproot format
Navigate to the Chorus One’s BTC Staking Interface.
The direct link will be: https://www.stakingrewards.com/stake-app?input=bitcoin&type=babylon-staking&provider=chorus-one&locked=true
Connect your wallet. If you’re visiting the website for the first time, you will need to sign the signature request to get your wallet connected.
Input the amount of BTC you want to stake. During Babylon Phase 1, you have the option to stake between 0.005 and 0.05 BTC per transaction.
Select or switch the address format in your wallet.
Next you can choose to keep the current network fee or prioritize your delegation by increasing the transaction fee.
Reminder: The cap for phase 1 will fill very quickly (around 20 - 40 mins). The higher you set your fee, the higher the likelihood your BTC will be staked to the next block, before the cap is filled.
If your stake arrives after the cap is filled, then it will be in the “overflow” status and you will need to unbond and withdraw your BTC.
Finalize the staking process by clicking “Stake” and confirm the transaction in your wallet.
Congratulations you have successfully staked your BTC to Babylon via Chorus One’s Finality Provider. You can now track your staked position via the Staking Terminal.
You can unstake your BTC and withdraw it via the Staking Terminal. There are two steps required to withdraw your BTC,
Note: Stake will automatically unbond after 65 weeks.
To begin the process of unstaking your BTC follow the the steps below:
Visit the Staking Terminal to view your staking positions.
Connect the wallet you staked with previously.
Navigate to the “My Holdings” tab to view your staked positions.
Click on position details and select “Unbond”. Confirm the transaction in your wallet.
You can monitor your unbonded BTC via the “Unbonding” as shown below. Once your unbonding period of 7 days ends, you will be able to withdraw your BTC.
About Chorus One
Chorus One is a leading institutional staking provider, securing over $3 billion in assets across 60+ Proof-of-Stake networks. Since 2018, Chorus One has been a trusted partner for institutions, offering enterprise-grade solutions, industry-leading research, and investments in cutting-edge protocols.
Blockchain technology, particularly EVM-compatible blockchains, has radically transformed how we think about trust, value transfer, and decentralized applications (dApps). Ethereum, the frontrunner in this space, has been the playground for developers and innovators to build decentralized finance (DeFi), digital art (NFTs), and beyond. However, despite its revolutionary potential, Ethereum faces a fundamental challenge: transaction inefficiency.
Ethereum processes roughly 15-30 transactions per second (TPS). In contrast, payment networks like Visa handle over 1,700 TPS on average. This gap is not because Ethereum lacks innovation but because the very architecture that enables decentralization also imposes bottlenecks. As the world looks to blockchain for global-scale solutions, Ethereum’s single-threaded execution model, coupled consensus and execution, and storage inefficiencies mean that it struggles to meet the needs of millions of users. This inefficiency creates high fees, slow finality, and a system that often feels impractical for mainstream adoption.
So how do we build a blockchain that scales to millions while still retaining the core ethos of decentralization and trustlessness?
Enter Monad—a Layer 1 blockchain designed not to replace Ethereum but to optimize the very way EVM-compatible blockchains process transactions. Monad offers a paradigm shift, introducing radical but well-reasoned changes that solve the very inefficiencies that have stifled blockchain scalability.
Monad isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel. It embraces the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and maintains compatibility with Ethereum’s rich ecosystem. But it takes a surgical approach to fixing Ethereum’s inefficiencies by optimizing the processes that slow it down.
At its core, Monad offers a solution by decoupling execution from consensus. Unlike Ethereum, where every validator must execute transactions in real-time to reach consensus, Monad rethinks the process. In Monad’s world, the network first agrees on the order of transactions and then proceeds to execute them independently. This seemingly simple separation is the key to unlocking a blockchain that can scale to 10,000 TPS with 1-second finality.
Monad prioritizes two things above all: decentralization and efficiency. Instead of sacrificing one for the other, Monad’s approach ensures that transaction throughput increases without compromising the trustless, decentralized nature of the network.
Now, let’s delve into the optimizations that make this vision a reality.
1. MonadBFT
Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism intertwines transaction validation and execution. But Monad takes inspiration from HotStuff to create MonadBFT, a consensus protocol that eliminates the need for execution during consensus.
By doing so, MonadBFT focuses solely on reaching agreement on transaction ordering. It achieves 1-second block times with single-slot finality, compared to Ethereum’s multi-minute finality, by reducing communication rounds and allowing consensus to happen faster. This streamlined approach lets validators come to agreement on a block’s content, even before they execute it.
2. Deferred Execution
In Ethereum, consensus and execution are linked in a way that forces validators to both agree on and execute transactions within the same block window, which can be inefficient. Deferred Execution in Monad separates the two, enabling the network to reach consensus first, and allowing transaction execution to take place afterward, in parallel.
What does this mean in practice? Instead of validators being forced to immediately execute transactions as they propose blocks, they can delay execution. The transactions are committed in the agreed order, but the execution happens alongside consensus for the next block. This approach vastly improves throughput by allowing the network to optimize execution time across multiple blocks.
3. Parallel execution and Superscalar pipelining
Monad implements optimistic parallel execution, where transactions are processed in parallel across multiple cores but committed in their original order, maintaining the same deterministic outcomes as Ethereum. While this boosts throughput, it can lead to state conflicts when transactions depend on each other. In such cases, Monad re-executes conflicting transactions to ensure correctness.
To further enhance efficiency, Monad introduces superscalar pipelining. This technique divides the transaction processing into multiple stages (e.g., signature verification, state access) and processes these stages in parallel, similar to how modern CPUs work. By overlapping different stages of transaction execution, Monad maximizes resource utilization, reducing delays and increasing throughput, all while preserving the linear ordering of transactions.
A simple diagram to illustrate superscalar pipelining:
4. MonadDb
State storage is a lesser-known bottleneck in Ethereum. The Merkle Patricia Trie (MPT) structure that Ethereum uses is embedded into key-value databases like LevelDB, which weren’t designed for blockchain workloads. Monad solves this inefficiency by designing MonadDb, a storage solution that natively implements the Patricia Trie in both on-disk and in-memory formats.
Additionally, MonadDb uses asynchronous I/O to avoid the blocking nature of traditional storage operations. This means that even if one transaction is waiting for state to be loaded from disk, the system can continue processing other transactions, thereby optimizing overall performance.
While Monad’s optimizations are powerful, they are not without challenges.
Despite these challenges, the benefits far outweigh the potential drawbacks. Let’s look at the results Monad’s innovations deliver.
Thanks to these four key optimizations, Monad aims to achieve what few blockchains can:
Monad is still in development, but its ambitious roadmap is clear. The project’s public testnet is expected in the near future, allowing developers to integrate it into their Ethereum-compatible wallets and applications. This will be a crucial step in proving Monad’s ability to scale without sacrificing the core values of decentralization and trustlessness.
Monad’s team is focused on ensuring that its network remains easy to use for developers familiar with Ethereum. They’ve built Monad as a drop-in replacement for Ethereum, meaning developers can port their dApps with little to no changes. As more users and developers flock to the testnet, Monad aims to further refine its consensus, execution, and storage systems, solving the scalability trilemma in a way that balances decentralization, performance, and security.
Monad offers a bold new approach to solving blockchain’s biggest bottleneck: transaction inefficiency. By decoupling execution from consensus, enabling parallel execution, and optimizing storage with MonadDb, it delivers a blockchain that can handle 10,000 TPS with 1-second finality—all without sacrificing decentralization. As Monad continues to build and refine its technology, it stands as a potential blueprint for the future of blockchain scalability, offering a glimpse of what’s possible when we think beyond the limitations of today’s networks.
--
Frequently asked Questions (source: docs.monad.xyz):
The Monad client is built with a modular software architecture, separating the tasks of consensus and execution between two software modules: the consensus client and execution client respectively. The consensus client is written in Rust which is a memory-safe language that allows for low-level optimizations. The execution client is written in C/C++, well-established and battle-tested languages for developing low-level system critical code.
The Monad network is a full stack solution for developers, allowing access to a highly composable ecosystem without compromising on real-time censorship resistance. While L2 solutions may offer one way to compress data stored on the base layer, the Monad blockchain is a scalable base layer for the EVM itself at its most fundamental layer. A highly-performant base layer gives application developers the best of both worlds, with a high degree of composability and real-time censorship resistance in the name of scalability.
Yes! The Monad blockchain is 100% EVM compatible at the bytecode level - meaning contracts from ETH mainnet, or other fully EVM compatible networks will work out-of-the-box without requiring any code changes.
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.
Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) is critical to blockchains, particularly on networks like Ethereum and Solana. With sub-second block times and high throughput, Solana has unique challenges and opportunities in the MEV space. Unlike Ethereum's block-building marketplace model, Solana's mempool-less architecture has led to a different MEV extraction dynamic characterized by high-speed competition and potential network congestion.
Solana's unique features, including Gulf Stream for mempool-less transaction forwarding, have enabled remarkable speed and efficiency. However, these same features have also created an MEV landscape that requires innovative approaches.
The current methods of MEV extraction on Solana have several drawbacks. Searchers competing on latency often flood the network with duplicate transactions to ensure MEV capture, leading to periods of intense congestion and failing transaction processing for all users.
The winner-takes-all nature of Solana MEV opportunities results in a high rate of failed transactions. These failed transactions still consume compute resources and network bandwidths. Studies have shown that up to 75% of transactions interacting with DEX aggregators can fail during periods of high activity.
Moreover, the concentration of MEV capture among a few players threatens network decentralization as these entities accumulate more resources and influence. In Ethereum, the use of external searchers and block-builders has led to private order flow deals, resulting in extreme centralization where a single builder creating over 50% of Ethereum blocks, with only two builders responsible for 95% and four entities building 99% of all blocks.
Paladin introduces a solution to address these issues. It consists of two main components:
The Paladin bot is a high-speed, open-source arb bot that runs locally on validators. It works only when the validator is the leader and is integrated with the Jito-client. By running directly on the validator, it captures all riskless and straightforward MEV opportunities (e.g., atomic arbitrage, CeFi/DeFi arbitrage) faster than searchers, without needing to outsource these opportunities and pay around 20% of the MEV to external entities. Any non-supported, or more advanced MEV strategies that the Paladin bot doesn’t recognize can still be captured by the Jito auction, making it a net positive for the ecosystem.
The bot listens to state updates from the geyser interface, allowing real-time opportunity detection. Validators can choose which tokens and protocols to interact with, allowing more conservative validators to alleviate legal concerns about interacting directly with tokens they deem securities.
The PAL token is designed to align the incentives of validators and users and create a robust MEV extraction mechanism. With the entire supply of one billion airdropped at launch, PAL is distributed among validators, their stakers, Solana builders, the team, and a development fund.
PAL can be staked by validators and their delegators, with rewards proportional to their SOL stake. The token has a unique MEV distribution mechanism, where 10% of captured MEV is funneled to PAL token holders, with 97.5% going back to validators and their stakers. Most staked PALs can vote to slash the staked PAL of validators who engage in dishonest actions, such as running closed-source modifications of Paladin, instead of adhering to the "just run Paladin" principle.
Paladin's design creates dynamics that contribute to its sustainability. The "Pack of Wolves" dynamic incentivizes validators to "run with the pack" by honestly running Paladin. Going against the pack risks slashing and loss of rewards. This creates a self-reinforcing system of honest behavior.
As more validators run Paladin, a flywheel effect is created. More MEV is funneled to PAL holders, increasing the value of PAL and further incentivizing participation. This alignment of long-term interests incentivizes validators to behave honestly rather than pursue short-term gains through harmful practices like frontrunning.
Moreover, by allowing all validators to participate in MEV extraction, Paladin prevents centralization while still allowing searchers to implement more specialized strategies. The bot's open-source nature and transparent reward distribution create a fairer MEV landscape, benefiting the entire Solana ecosystem.
At Chorus One, we recognize Paladin's transformative potential. We've taken the proactive step of integrating Paladin into one of our Solana validators, Chorus One Palidator.
If you have been following Chorus One, you would know we have a deep interest in MEV. Almost two years back, we open-sourced our proof-of-concept called ‘Breaking Bots’ to capture MEV on Solana efficiently and ethically. Paladin’s proposition is similar in spirit but takes a different approach with the PAL token, which was not part of our proof-of-concept.
The integration of Paladin with our validator is a significant step in addressing the challenges of MEV on Solana. We invite Solana stakers to join us in this effort by delegating to our Palidator. Let’s move towards a model that benefits all participants rather than a select few.
As the MEV landscape evolves, Chorus One is committed to exploring and implementing solutions that benefit our delegators and the wider Solana community.
Blog articles
https://chorus.one/articles/metrics-that-matter
https://chorus.one/articles/solana-mev-client-an-alternative-way-to-capture-mev-on-solana
https://chorus.one/articles/solana-validator-economics
https://chorus.one/articles/analyzing-mev-instances-on-solana-part-3
https://chorus.one/articles/analyzing-mev-instances-on-solana-part-2
https://chorus.one/articles/analyzing-mev-instances-on-solana-part-1
Podcasts
Solana's Next Big Moves: From Memecoins to Staking—What's Coming Next?
Exploring Marinade V2 and the state of Solana Staking
About Chorus One
Chorus One is one of the largest institutional staking providers globally, operating infrastructure for over 60 Proof-of-Stake (PoS) networks, including Ethereum, Cosmos, Solana, Avalanche, Near, and others. Since 2018, we have been at the forefront of the PoS industry, offering easy-to-use, enterprise-grade staking solutions, conducting industry-leading research, and investing in innovative protocols through Chorus One Ventures. As an ISO 27001 certified provider, Chorus One also offers slashing and double-signing insurance to its institutional clients. For more information, visit chorus.one or follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and Telegram.
The rapid expansion of AI-driven applications and platforms in 2024 has revolutionized everything from email composition to the rise of virtual influencers. AI has permeated countless aspects of our daily lives, offering unprecedented convenience and capabilities. However, with this explosive growth comes an increasingly urgent question: How can we enjoy the benefits of AI without compromising our privacy? This concern extends beyond AI to other domains where sensitive data exchange is critical, such as healthcare, identity verification, and trading. While privacy is often viewed as an impediment to these use cases, Nillion posits that it can actually be an enabler. In this article, we'll delve into the current challenges surrounding private data exchange, how Nillion addresses these issues, and explore the potential it unlocks.
Privacy in blockchain technology is not a novel concept. Over the years, several protocols have emerged, offering solutions like private transactions and obfuscation of user identities. However, privacy extends far beyond financial transactions. It could be argued that privacy has the potential to unlock a multitude of non-financial use cases—if only we could compute on private data without compromising its confidentiality. Feeding private data into generative AI platforms or allowing them to train on user-generated content raises significant privacy concerns.
Every day, we unknowingly share fragments of our data through various channels. This data can be categorized into three broad types:
The publicly shared data has fueled the growth of social media and the internet, generating billions of dollars in economic value and creating jobs. Companies have capitalized on this data to improve algorithms and enhance targeted advertising, leading to a concentration of data within a few powerful entities, as evidenced by scandals like Cambridge Analytica. Users, often unaware of the implications, continue to feed these data monopolies, further entrenching their dominance. With the rise of AI wearables, the potential for privacy invasion only increases.
As awareness of the importance of privacy grows, it becomes clear that while people are generally comfortable with their data being used, they want its contents to remain confidential. This desire for privacy presents a significant challenge: how can we allow services to use data without revealing the underlying information? Traditional encryption methods require decryption before computation, which introduces security vulnerabilities and increases the risk of data misuse.
Another critical issue is the concentration of sensitive data. Ideally, high-value data should be decentralized to avoid central points of failure, but sharing data across multiple parties or nodes raises concerns about efficiency and consistent security standards.
This is where Nillion comes in. While blockchains have decentralized transactions, Nillion seeks to decentralize high-value data itself.
Nillion is a secure computation network designed to decentralize trust for high-value data. It addresses privacy challenges by leveraging Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs), particularly Multi-Party Computation (MPC). These PETs enable users to securely store high-value data on Nillion's peer-to-peer network of nodes and allow computations to be executed on the masked data itself. This approach eliminates the need to decrypt data prior to computation, thereby enhancing the security of sensitive information.
The Nillion network enables computations on hidden data, unlocking new possibilities across various sectors. Early adopters in the Nillion community are already building tools for private predictive AI, secure storage and compute solutions for healthcare, password management, and trading data. Developers can create applications and services that utilize PETs like MPC to perform blind computations on private user data without revealing it to the network or other users.
The Nillion Network operates through two interdependent layers:
When decentralized applications (dApps) or other blockchain networks require privacy-enhanced data (e.g., blind computations), they must pay in $NIL, the network's native token. The Coordination Layer's nodes manage the payments between the dApp and the Petnet, while infrastructure providers on the Petnet are rewarded in $NIL for securely storing data and performing computations.
The Coordination Layer functions as a Cosmos chain, with infrastructure providers staking $NIL to secure the network, just like in other Cosmos-based chains. This dual-layer architecture ensures that Nillion can scale effectively while maintaining robust security and privacy standards.
At the heart of Nillion's architecture is the concept of clustering. Each cluster consists of a variable number of nodes tailored to meet specific security, cost, and performance requirements. Unlike traditional blockchains, Nillion's compute network does not rely on a global shared state, allowing it to scale both vertically and horizontally. As demand for storage or compute power increases, clusters can scale up their infrastructure or new clusters of nodes can be added.
Clusters can be specialized to handle different types of requests, such as provisioning large amounts of storage for secrets or utilizing specific hardware to accelerate particular computations. This flexibility enables the Nillion network to adapt to various use cases and workloads.
$NIL is the governance and staking token of the Nillion network, playing a crucial role in securing and managing the network. Its primary functions include:
Nillion's advanced data privacy capabilities open up a wide range of potential use cases, both within and beyond the crypto space:
Nillion is currently in the testnet phase, having recently completed its incentivized Genesis Sprint. The network is now running the Catalyst Convergence phase, which aims to seamlessly integrate the Petnet with the Coordination Layer. Nillion also recently announced its partnership with the leading Layer 2 Arbitrum. The tie-up will enable apps on Nillion to tap into Ethereum’s security for settlement and bring Nillion’s privacy-preserving data processing and storage to Arbitrum dapps.
Staking $NIL with Chorus One
Chorus One is actively collaborating with Nillion and will support $NIL staking when the network launches its mainnet. For those interested in learning more or participating in the network, reach out to us for further information.
