Yesterday, the Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract was launched, and the genesis time has been moved from January 3rd, 2021 to December 1st, 2020. To trigger genesis at this time, there must be at least 524,288 ETH deposited to the contract through the launchpad, 7 days prior to the genesis date.
As we are getting closer to the launch, users will be able to deposit funds through the Stkr platform before the genesis date. This way we will all contribute to bootstrap and secure the Ethereum 2.0 network.
In this article we want to shine the light on one of the crucial roles in the Stkr system: the providers.
Why and how to be a provider on Stkr
Providers play a key role in the Stkr network. They leverage their technical capabilities, computer resources or cryptocurrency funds to run nodes on the Beacon chain (the core chain of Ethereum 2.0) and offer micropools that allow users to stake any amount of ETH (from 0.5 to 1,000 ETH) in one click, breaking down economic and technical barriers for Ethereum 2.0 staking.
To become a provider, you can use your own hardware, or simply deploy your Ethereum 2.0 node remotely with Ankr , without any technical knowledge of having to go through any documentation.
Each Ethereum 2.0 Beacon chain node forms one or more micropools. While each micropool can take up to 32 ETH 2.0 as a stake. When the node is deployed, it can be easily submitted to the Stkr platform.
Providers need to submit an insurance fund (in ETH or ANKR tokens) before being able to get ETH allocated to their nodes from stakers on the platform. Nodes with a higher ANKR insurance stake will have priority in the allocation process.
The stakers (who we call “requesters”) can stake amounts from 0.5 up to 1,000 ETH in one click on the Stkr platform. The protocol will automatically allocate these staked ETH over the available nodes, and add unallocated ETH (in the case there are more ETH than nodes available) to the queue.
As compensation for their service, providers receive 15% of the total rewards produced by their node.
Provider Insurance
Each node requires an insurance amount to be staked by the Provider, which acts as a guarantee against poor hardware performance or the user withdrawing the node (in case it is hosted via Ankr).
Providers can choose to stake ETH or ANKR as insurance .The amount is set at 2 ETH or 1.6 ETH worth of ANKR, but amount may change in case of substantial price fluctuations. The intent is to ensure that utilizing Ankr is the cheapest way to set up a Stkr micropool. Providers can also decide to stake higher amounts of ANKR to increase their reputation score and get higher on the provider ranks.
This insurance system is designed to protect requesters against slashing events and compensate them in case the service fails in any way. In the meantime, staked insurance amounts will also earn staking rewards for the Provider.
If the insurance fund gets depleted, the node will auto-fail and any requesters’ staked funds will be automatically moved to an alternate node, to ensure continued service and rewards.
Interested in becoming a Provider? Fill in this form to join early adopters.
* All figures are subject to change, until fixed for launch.
Useful Stkr links
- Stkr teaser page
- Read the Stkr whitepaper here
- Stkr announcement article
- Interest form for providers, early requesters, stakers and governors
Follow Ankr on social media
- Ankr official website
- Ankr Twitter
- Ankr Telegram announcements
- Ankr Telegram English chat
- Ankr Telegram Node Support group
- Ankr LinkedIn profile
- Ankr Instagram
