🪴Ecosystem

The KeyStake ecosystem revolves around three key stakeholders:

Validators

Validators play a crucial role in securing the Proof-of-Stake mechanism on Ethereum. They earn ETH rewards for accurately and promptly fulfilling their assigned tasks. However, any failure to actively participate results in gradual deductions from the initial 32 ETH balance. KeyStake emphasizes the importance of validator uptime for maximizing rewards and avoiding penalties. Security is paramount, achieved through the splitting of validator keys into shares and distribution to independent operator nodes, ensuring an offline and secure storage environment.

Operators

KeyStake utilizes committees of non-trusting, tech-savvy operators collaborating to manage validators on behalf of stakers. This approach provides a turnkey solution, ensuring a fault-tolerant system with high availability. Even if some operators are offline, others step in to complete validator tasks. Two types of operators exist: those supporting the decentralized staking service and initiators, who stake 8 ETH to create mini-pools. Initiators, along with Parastate DAO operators, run Distributed Key Generation (DKG) schemes to set up private/public key pairs for trustless BLS threshold signature schemes. This innovative design prevents malicious operators from stealing funds.

KeyStake Service Provider / KeyStake DAO

KeyStake relies on its supporters, including Service Providers and the KeyStake DAO, to build and maintain its infrastructure and protocol. These entities play a pivotal role in delivering decentralized staking services. KeyStake provides a robust web service where users depositing ETH to run validators can maximize rewards and minimize penalties. Additionally, users have the opportunity to run operator nodes and charge fees for managing validators on behalf of stakers, contributing to the overall efficiency and success of the KeyStake ecosystem.

To explore running an operator node on the KeyStake network, refer to the provided instructions.