Smooth vs Smoothly
A significant vector of centralization in staking is that large pools have the ability to share execution layer rewards among all its stakers. Until very recently, solo stakers didn’t have the option to benefit from smoothing execution layer rewards in a pool.
Analysis has shown that, over a 5 year time span, validators in a smoothing pool earn 41.6% more than those not in a pool. If a lone validator joins a smoothing pool with 99 validators in it, the likelihood of it outperforming in the pool compared to by itself is 78%. Ken Smith wrote a full analysis using the Monte Carlo method with lots of math and helpful figures and charts. Or you can watch him explain it on stage at Devcon Bogotá.
When there are more active validators in the pool than you’ll be adding. For example if you have 2 validators, it only makes sense to join a smoothing pool if it already has 3 active validators in it before you join. Validators move from pending to active after a block proposal.
As of Feb 2024, there are two options: Smooth & Smoothly. EthStaker supports both of these pools as options for solo stakers.
| Smooth | Smoothly | |
|---|---|---|
| Website | https://smooth.dappnode.io/ | https://app.smoothly.money/ |
| Address | 0xAdFb8D27671F14f297eE94135e266aAFf8752e35 |
0x43670D6f39Bca19EE26462f62339e90A39B01e34 |
| Fee | 7% | 1.5% |
| Oracles | 3 oracle operators: DAppNode, Giveth & Migalabs | 6 oracle operators: EthStaker, Anthony Sassano, Aestus Relay, Cryptomanufaktur, Kody, Noah |
| Validators in pool | 549 active, 6 pending, 555 total | 8 active, 43 pending, 51 total |
| Extra incentives | Accepts donations - docs | SLIDE: Gitcoin Grants & other public goods funding |
| Team | DappNode | Kody Sale & Noah Figueras |
| MEV theft protection | 0.01 ETH bond | 0.5 ETH bond |
| Claim period | Variable. Rewards accumulate a pending balance between proposals and become active after the next proposal. | Every 21 days |
| Audit | ? | Pashov, Aug 2023 |
| Launch date | Dec 2023 | Jan 2024 |
| Discord | Invite | Invite |
EthStaker hosted a community call with Smooth & Smoothly in Dec 2023: