The Staking Platform provides users with an entrance 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 received a new wave of attention and attracted the participation of a large number of new users.
From the perspective of 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 terms of service models 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 pledge service.
As for the "pledge" mentioned in the former, this is a mechanism to maintain network security on the PoS mechanism blockchain network - users can obtain asset rewards by participating in the pledge of the PoS mechanism blockchain network, and this reward, It is designed to encourage users to maintain the integrity and security of the blockchain network by participating in staking.
As for the "pledge" mentioned in the latter, this is an asset service provided by the DeFi protocol project platform - users lock the digital assets they hold in the smart contract of the DeFi project, aiming to obtain rewards for the digital assets they hold. Further income is to obtain interest.
It is worth noting that for conventional digital asset pledge services, different DeFi protocol projects can support different types of assets to participate in pledge, and even NFT can be pledged. However, pledge platforms designed to help users participate in PoS mechanism blockchain network verification usually accept established, single asset types to participate in pledges.
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 aggregation, platform availability, security, rewards, etc., and they appear more frequently in different lists. High staking platforms include:
Lido
Lido is the largest liquidity staking platform in terms of assets today. The total market value of locked assets (TVL) has exceeded US$14 billion. 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 $2 billion, supporting 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. It supports staking activities in PoS consensus mechanism blockchain networks such as Ethereum and Polygon. It also links to more than 40 DeFi projects with conventional digital asset staking services. Today The total market value of locked assets (TVL) exceeds US$124 million.
Tenderize
Tenderize is a DeFi protocol project platform that provides conventional digital asset staking services. It supports a variety of digital assets to participate in staking services. Users can obtain interest and participate in other free transactions using alternative assets obtained through staking.
The above-mentioned staking platforms on the list cover a variety of staking service models, including liquidity staking (including re-staking), centralized exchange staking, DeFi protocol project pledge pool form staking, etc., but the scale of assets locked by liquidity staking is still maximum. Since Ethereum completed the merger and changed the consensus mechanism on September 15, 2022, most of the staking of the digital asset ETH has so far been completed through third-party liquidity staking platforms.
Next thoughts on the staking platform
Ethereum staking is facing serious centralization problems. Lido, Coinbase and other staking platforms with the largest locked-in 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, and explained in the event speech that Barnabe Monneau of the Ethereum Foundation in February 2024 A new concept is proposed: Rainbow Staking, in order to cope 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 protocol services as much as possible, thereby increasing the number of validators who independently participate in staking. quantity.
Through the integration of various protocols, Rainbow Staking hopes to solve the two major challenges faced by users who want to participate in staking: the asset threshold of "32 ETH is required to participate in staking" and the technical challenge 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.
