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Smoothing Pools

Smooth vs Smoothly

FAQ

Why join a smoothing pool?

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 does it make sense for me to join a smoothing pool?

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.

How many solo staker smoothing pool options are there?

As of Feb 2024, there are two options: Smooth & Smoothly. EthStaker supports both of these pools as options for solo stakers.

Comparison

  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 1866 active, 10 pending, 1876 total 47 active, 75 pending, 122 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

More Info

EthStaker hosted a community call with Smooth & Smoothly in Dec 2023: