[Discussion Draft] Integrating Obol with the StaFi Router

Abstract

The SIP-7 proposal has been sanctioned, which incorporates SSV instead of the Trust Validator, applying the DVT technology. Nonetheless, the DVT hasn’t been employed in the context of solo validators. Therefore, the proposal suggests integrating Obol to enable DVT implementation for solo validators.

Motivation

DVT is a technology primitive that enables an Ethereum PoS Validator to run on multiple nodes or machines, allowing an individual, group, or community of operators to operate a cluster of nodes as a single validator on Ethereum.

The current StaFi ETH liquid staking validator function already supports SSV DVT. However, the DVT technology hasn’t been implemented yet for solo validators. Therefore, by integrating Obol into the router, it will enable the adoption of DVT for solo validators, completing the implementation of DVT across the entire StaFi validator network.

Specification

Overview

Cluster and deposit flow, use the Obol-SDK and Obol Manager contracts

sequenceDiagram
Operator->>StaFi: Deposit m ETH and join a cluster
StaFi->>StaFi: Init the cluster
StaFi->>Obol: Proposal the cluster
Obol-->>StaFi: Success
StaFi->>Operator:Invite the operator to complete the DKG
Operator->>Obol: Complete the DKG
Obol-->>StaFi: DKG complete
StaFi->>Beacon(Ethereum): Active the validator(cluster)
Obol-->>StaFi: Active success
StaFi->>Deposit Contract(Ethereum): Deposit 32ETH
Obol-->>Beacon(Ethereum): Validator
StaFi->>Deposit Contract(Ethereum): Withdrawal rewards
Beacon(Ethereum)-->>StaFi: Rewards
  • m ETH: In order to ensure the stability of the operator’s operation and prevent slashing, a collateral is required for the operator.
  • Init the cluster: In order to initialize a cluster, it is necessary to determine the required parameters.

StaFi Router

StaFi Router will integrate Obol. To increase decentralization, we plan to reduce the number of trust validators and use them only as a backup.

graph TD
  id5((PoolBalance)) --> id6{StaFiRouter}
	id6{StaFiRouter}--12ETH from validator + 20ETH from Pool--> id1[(SoloValidator)]
	id6{StaFiRouter}-- 4mETH from validator + Pool -->id3[(Obol DVT)]
	id6{StaFiRouter}--32ETH from Pool -->id4[(SSV DVT)]
	id6{StaFiRouter}-. Backup .-> id2[(TrustValidator)]

Security Considerations

StaFi Router operates as an off-chain service, there is a possibility of server failures that can result in delayed rewards and prevent the ability to run new validators in Obol.

There are also other centralization risks associated with Obol, as well as ways to mitigate them:

  • Obol hosts the relay infrastructure
  • Obol can update Charon code
  • Obol hosts the DV Launchpad
  • Obol may go bust or become rogue

Copyright

Copyright and related rights waived via CC0 .

Q&A

What is the difference between SSV and Obol

Obol offers greater flexibility, but requires further development for seamless integration. Unlike protocols like SSV, Obol do not currently provide many node operators to select. Therefore, the protocol must actively seek external node operators(such as solo staker) to run validators. To safeguard against validator slashing, node operators need to deposit both ETH and the protocol token as collateral.

That’s second DVT that will be integrated into StaFi rETH, it means more options on decentralization, def it is super cool we can foresee.