Background
The Merge of Ethereum is coming soon. As a staking-as-a-Service provider, Forbole has been closely following the progress, and envision the migrating of Ethereum network from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake will bring huge impact on the crypto industry.
Looking around the market, there are already several Ethereum staking pools competing for shares, for example, Lido, RocketPool, and StakeFish, etc. However, none of them is utilizing the SSV technology, which we believe is the front-runner in the Ethereum 2.0 staking. Forbole has been operating on SSV testnet for a while. Based on our existing knowledge of staking business, we believe that establishing a SSV-integrated Ethereum 2.0 staking pool can serve the best interest of many ETH token holders, for it relieves the tendency of centralization as many predicted for Ethereum’s migration to PoS.
About Forbole
Forbole is an experienced professional validator on 50 blockchains, including Cosmos Hub, Solana, Kusama, Terra and Flow. We are also maintaining various nodes on bridge-type projects, such as Wormhole and Axelar. Our team consists of experienced engineers, talented designers, and creative marketers around the world. There are currently more than 20k active addresses delegated to us across various ecosystems.
We have built easy-to-use open source tools for token holders and blockchain end users to boost crypto mass adoption. The block explorer we developed, Big Dipper, has gained popularity among users and been forked over 200 times. Furthermore, Forbole is the core contributor to Desmos (www.desmos.network), a blockchain designed to be the backbone of decentralized social network applications.
Forbole is an advocate of decentralization, open-source, and crypto mass adoption. We build and contribute projects that are aligned with our core values.
Forbole is already a verified operator on SSV’s testnet. SSV Network Explorer
To learn more about Forbole, please visit www.forbole.com. Shall you have any questions, please reach out at info@forbole.com.
Proposal
Forbole is planning to build a non-custodial Ethereum 2.0 staking pool for retail users, leveraging our existing brand value, knowledge in staking business, and vast user base, as well as utilizing SSV technology.
The purpose of building a staking pool of Ethereum 2.0 is to serve more individual Ethereum token holders. One of Forbole’s core values is to encourage crypto mass adoption, and we believe building a ETH2.0 staking pool to serve more users, especially those with less than 32 Ethereum tokens, would help achieve this goal.
The Forbole Ethereum2.0 staking pool will be fully integrated with SSV. We offer two options: if a token holder has 32 ETH, then they could choose the option of generating their own validator. For those who would like to stake less than 32 ETH, they could choose the option of depositing the token into a smart contract with others to become a 32-ETH validator. Ethereum token holders can stake as minimum as 1 (tentatively, subject to change) ETH on Forbole staking pool. The smart contract gathers individual’s staked ETH into 32 ETH. When 32 ETH are collected, the smart contract will send the 32 ETH to the official Ethereum Deposit Contract and generate a validator. After that, this validator will be imported on the SSV platform to stake across 4 operators. Forbole will be one of the 4 operators, and the other 3 can be selected via an off-chain governance proposal or election. These 4 operators will be hardcoded into the smart contract. The withdrawal function will also be handled by smart contracts.
We are proposing to take small steps to approach this huge project. Thus, we are presenting a multi-phases build-out plan, hoping to roll out the MVP as soon as possible. The MVP will include minimum features. The aim is to help Ethereum token holders become familiar with PoS and staking. Forbole is determined to be inclusive and serve more users, and we are aware that some of the token holders are not as sophisticated as the rest, so we hope to build something simple to get them started first.
Project Plan
Phase 1: MVP
Smart Contract: This phrase will focus on writing the smart contracts for various processes. This is the part that we’d like to request support from SSV DAO. Our developers have begun researching this topic at the time of writing. Please refer to the technical addendum at the end for the detailed explanation of the 2 models we propose (32-ETH and less than 32-ETH options).
UI/UX: We will build a frontend site for token holders to interact with. The user flow is under designed at this moment.
Once this phrase is finished, we could soft-launch the MVP.
| Phase 1 | |
|---|---|
| Deliverable | Time (Weeks) |
| UI/UX design for Forbole ETH2.0 staking pool | 2 |
| Smart contracts | 6 |
| Frontend built-out | 2 |
| Internal testing | 1 |
| Total (some tasks will run in parallel) | 10 |
Phase 1.5: Test on SSV testnet V2
We would like to test our staking pool product on SSV’s upcoming testnet V2 before launching on mainnet to ensure the process is smooth and stable. The general process would be internal testing first, and then open to the community for testing. We will also share the build progress and testing results with the SSV community and DAO, as well as welcome all feedback and suggestions. Forbole always believes in the power of community and users. We aim to build something that can serve the community better.
Phase 2: Audit + Support
Audit: Forbole will hire 2 audit firms to audit the smart contract code to ensure Forbole staking pool’s safety and robustness. We’d like to request some support from SSV DAO for this part.
User support: during this phase, Forbole will focus on building up various user documentation, user guides, and a team of user supports to help token holders utilize Forbole Staking Pool and other tools.
Phase 3: Launch and marketing
Once the audit is completed, we will officially launch the staking pool and plan various marketing campaigns.
Phase 4 and beyond: Adding more features
Some of the ideas that have been discussed:
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Integrate the liquid staking feature
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Integrate with Desmos, a sovereign chain designed to be the backbone for next-gen social network applications built by Forbole and other Forbole open-source products, such as an asset management tool currently under development.
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Build a Big Dipper explorer for Ethereum 2.0.
Funding request from SSV DAO
We would like to request a total of $100,000 support from SSV DAO for building this staking pool project. We are happy to accept all grants in SSV tokens. Please see below for the fund usage:
Phase 1: $70,000 for the staff working on products, including product managers and engineers.
Phase 2: $30,000 for audit cost.
We propose the grant to be sent in 4 batches:
- $10,000 upfront;
- $30,000 when we finish the MVP (phase 1);
- $30,000 after testing on SSV testnet V2 (phase 1.5);
- $40,000 after auditing (phase 2).
For phase 1-3, Forbole will be responsible for the rest of the human resource cost, auditing expense, marketing campaign expense, etc.
For Phase 4: The plan of this stage is still under discussion. We would reach out to the SSV community and SSV DAO for support if we see there are more benefits for us to work together on some new feature or programs.
The above is the general ideas of the Forbole Staking Pool we have after initial research. We are prepared that some ideas might evolve after deeper investigation or during development. We will communicate with the DAO and community if there are adjustments in our approach. The ultimate goal is to build an ETH 2.0 staking pool which is fully integrated with SSV and can serve many individual ETH token holders in the community.
Technical Addendum
Decentralized Staking Pool Model
Front End for User Interaction with Smart Contract
Pool Model:
rF- ETH → rewards Forbole ETH token (ERC-20)
sF-ETH → Staking Forbole ETH token (ERC-20)
Solitary model:
Swap can be integrated with existing DEX and LP or self DEX/LP (recommended future zkSTARK or SNARK based zk-Rollup).
