Snapshot Taken: Entering the Next Phase of the Obol Collective

To mark the next step for the Obol Collective, we’ve taken a snapshot of current Obol Contributions, as well as Obol Badges and Techne holders.

We are just getting started, stay tuned for more details in the coming days about the next phase of the Obol Collective. 

Before we take the next step, let’s look back at our journey. 👀

Obol Today

It’s been two years since the first distributed validator (DV) went live on Ethereum mainnet and six months since we launched the Obol Collective. In that time, we’ve progressed on our mission to make Ethereum more resilient, secure, and decentralized. 

As shown by our dashboard, Obol has:

• $2.5B+ in committed stake
• 6,900+ active validators
• 220k+ ETH of stake secured by Obol DVs (~$700M+ at current market prices) 
• 50+ Obol Collective member projects
• 630+ Mainnet node operators
• 3,000+ Techne Credential Holders
• 6 continents running Obol DVs
• 80+ squads running globally

Distributed validators are quickly becoming the standard for scaling networks and protocols. Lido and EtherFi have adopted DVs to 10x the size of their operator sets, improve resilience, and reduce risk. The security properties of DVs have also been recognized by Byzantine Finance, Blockdaemon, and Liquid Collective. Beyond Ethereum, distributed validators are being used to secure Gnosis Chain, and expansion to additional chains and use cases is actively being explored.

Independently, home operators are banding together to join in Squad Staking, reducing barriers and accessing new opportunities. Squad staking with Obol has been recognized by Vitalik as a key to maintaining Ethereum’s decentralization.

The Genesis of Obol

Obol’s origins started in 2019, when it spun out of an Ethereum Foundation sponsored working group started by Dankrad Feist, Collin Myers, Mara Schmiedt, and Carl Beekhuizen. Motivated to find solutions to centralization problems in the maturing staking industry, Collin Myers and Oisín Kyne started Obol in 2021 to strengthen Ethereum’s settlement layer through the development of DVs. DVs made it possible to replace a single validating node with a group of nodes, introducing fault tolerance while greatly reducing slashing and security risks. Adding in the ability to diversify client types and geographic locations solidified DVs as the most robust and resilient staking technology available to Ethereum.

In addition to technical benefits, DVs also made staking more accessible by enabling stakers to split the 32 ETH requirement for a validator (aka Squad Staking). DVs also drastically improved home operators' ability to maintain 24/7 uptime by providing fault tolerance across nodes. DV's combined financial and technical benefits for home operators brought a new wave of operators into the Ethereum staking ecosystem.

Obol collaborated with Lido and EtherFi to integrate DVs into their staking protocols and onboarded hundreds of at-home operators. In parallel, we began issuing Techne Credentials, which certified the competence and experience of operators. This offered an easy path for staking protocols to identify and onboard new operators, laying the foundation for today’s Decentralized Operator Ecosystem. Together, we aim to provide new opportunities for operators while reducing burdens for networks and protocols.

The Obol Collective

Clearly, the adoption of DVs depended on ecosystem-wide involvement. To ensure Ethereum’s security, resilience, and decentralization, Obol needed researchers, technology builders, staking protocols, node operators, educators, ambassadors, community contributors, and stakers.

We launched the Obol Collective, an ecosystem of builders, operators, and networks scaling, securing, and decentralizing Web3 infrastructure. Fueled by Obol’s economic model, which directs retroactive funding to ecosystem projects, we started a positive flywheel to drive continuous investment in Web3 infrastructure.

Decentralizing Ownership with Obol Contributions

Ownership and governance of the Obol Collective should reflect the broad range of teams and individuals supporting the DV ecosystem. The Obol Contributions Program was our initial step toward making the Obol Collective an inclusive, ever-expanding organization.

Announced in August of 2024, the Obol Contributions program was an opportunity for every staker to gain recognition for scaling and decentralizing Ethereum by staking on Obol distributed validators (DVs). Stake deployed on Obol DVs contributed toward the retroactive funding mechanism (RAF), and by tracking Contributions, stakers earned access to future community governance and ownership of the Obol Collective.

We saw over $150M of ETH participate, staked by thousands of wallets, both via Squad Staking and partner products Chorus One, Stakely, Mellow, and EtherFi.

Snapshot of Obol Contributions, Techne, and Badges

Now, we are ready to evolve. 🍃

Today, we took a snapshot of all holders of Obol Contributions, Badges, and Techne Credentials. This snapshot ends the first phase of the Obol Contributions program. We will soon continue Obol Contributions in another form, so keep staking on DVs! 

In the coming days, we will launch the next phase of the Obol Collective. To stay up to date, follow us on twitter, and sign up for the newsletter below. 

Stay Tuned

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