Staking platforms face a watershed moment: is decentralization next?

Original title: "Staking Platform Enters Watershed: Is Decentralization the Next Step?"

Original Source: Bulushuo

Staking Platform is to provide users with an entry and channel to participate in digital asset staking. Since Ethereum upgraded from the PoW consensus mechanism to the PoS consensus mechanism, the staking platform has also gained a new wave of attention and attracted a large number of new users to participate.

From the purpose of staking, there are currently two common staking platforms: one is a liquidity staking platform that helps users participate in the PoS mechanism blockchain network; the other is a DeFi protocol project platform that provides conventional digital asset staking services. The two types of platforms may be very similar in service model and usage methods, and both can help users enhance the liquidity of assets, but they are different in the design of the protocol architecture and the ultimate purpose of the staking service.

For the "staking" mentioned in the former, this is a mechanism for maintaining network security on the PoS mechanism blockchain network - users can obtain asset rewards by participating in the staking of the PoS mechanism blockchain network, and this reward is intended to encourage users to participate in staking and maintain the integrity and security of the blockchain network.

For the "staking" mentioned in the latter, this is an asset service provided by the DeFi protocol project platform - users lock their digital assets in the smart contract of the DeFi project, aiming to obtain further benefits for the digital assets held, that is, to obtain interest.

It is worth noting that for conventional digital asset staking services, different DeFi protocol projects can support different types of assets to participate in staking, and even NFTs can be pledged. However, staking platforms designed to help users participate in the verification of the PoS mechanism blockchain network usually accept established, single asset types for staking.

Recently, many information platforms have selected the list of staking platforms worth looking forward to in 2024 based on indicators such as trading functions, user participation, asset concentration, platform availability, security, and rewards. The staking platforms that are frequently listed in different lists are:

Lido

Lido is the largest liquidity staking platform with the largest asset scale today. The total market value of locked assets (TVL) has exceeded US$14 billion, and it supports staking in PoS consensus mechanism blockchain networks such as Ethereum, Polygon and Solana.

Rocket Pool

Rocket Pool is a decentralized liquidity staking platform that supports and focuses on participating in Ethereum staking. It develops smart node software, provides a permissionless protocol, and supports users to freely choose to become node operators (i.e. validators).

Coinbase Prime

Coinbase Prime ’s total market value of locked assets (TVL) has now exceeded US$2 billion and supports participation in Ethereum staking .

EigenLayer

EigenLayer is a well-known re-staking platform that supports and focuses on participating in Ethereum staking. From the perspective of staking purposes, it is also a liquidity pledge. Currently, more than 600,000 pledged ETH are hosted on Eigenlayer.

Stader

Stader is a comprehensive staking platform that supports multiple blockchains and supports participation in PoS consensus such as Ethereum and Polygon. The staking activities of the mechanism blockchain network are also linked to more than 40 DeFi projects with conventional digital asset staking services. The total market value of assets locked today (TVL) exceeds 124 million US dollars.

Tenderize

Tenderize is a DeFi protocol project platform that provides regular digital asset pledge services, supporting a variety of digital assets to participate in pledge services. Users can obtain interest and participate in other free transactions using alternative assets obtained through staking.

The pledges listed above The platform covers a variety of pledge service models, including liquidity pledge (including re-pledge), centralized exchange pledge, DeFi protocol project pledge pool form pledge, etc. However, liquidity pledge still has the largest scale of assets locked. Since Ethereum completed the merger and changed the consensus mechanism on September 15, 2022, the staking of the digital asset ETH has so far been mostly completed through third-party liquidity staking platforms.

The next step of thinking about the staking platform

Ethereum staking is facing a serious center In order to solve the problem of staking, Lido, Coinbase and other pledge platforms with the largest locked-up assets have accounted for nearly half of the Ethereum pledged assets.

On March 21, 2024, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin once again reiterated the centralization risks faced by Ethereum staking at the ETHTaipei event. The speech explained the new concept proposed by Barnabe Monneau of the Ethereum Foundation in February 2024: Rainbow Staking, in order to deal with the growing centralization problem of Ethereum staking.

The core concept of the Rainbow Staking technical framework is to allow various technical protocol service providers (Protocol Service Providers) to participate in differentiated services as much as possible protocol services, thereby increasing the number of validators independently participating in staking.

Through the integration of various protocols, Rainbow Staking hopes to solve the two major challenges faced by users who want to participate in staking: "It requires 32 The asset threshold for "ETH participation in pledge" and the technical challenges of "independent operating nodes". This may also mean that the goal of the new technology framework is to reduce the economic value of existing liquid collateral assets (LSD assets) and return Ethereum staking to the original intention of staking.

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