stakefish Ethereum Validator NFTs

1 NFT = 32 ETH + Protocol rewards + Tip & MEV Fees

We are excited to announce the opening of the waitlist for Stake & Mint - stakefish Ethereum Validator NFTs.

Stake & Mint are stakefish Validator NFTs that map 1:1 with an Ethereum validator, with the NFT reflecting the four states stakefish supports for staking: Depositing, Active, Withdrawn, and Exiting.

This process of mapping will make it simple for stakers to convert 32 ETH to a single NFT representing their ownership of the Ethereum validator.

There are more asteroids in the Solar System than there are validators on the Ethereum Beacon Chain. Both numbers are increasing quickly. Practically we can give each validator a unique name and never have to worry about running out of new names. - Chun Wang, CEO of stakefish

Stake & Mint Mechanics

User Flow

Up to this point, users staking Ethereum need a generated withdrawal credential and the wallet to stake. With stakefish Validator NFTs, the user flow is simple.

In this new user flow, the delegator only needs to come to stakefish, interact with the smart contract on the website, and send 32 Ethereum to stake. In return, the smart contract will mint an NFT and put it back into the user’s wallet.

It’s as simple as that.

Reward Flow

Protocol rewards and MEV tips are separately delivered.

We create a secure wallet contract for every validator as the withdrawal address for protocol rewards and staking principal. When a validator exits, the principal plus the protocol rewards will go to that secure wallet, making the process non-custodial and controlled entirely by the user. Neither stakefish nor any 3rd party can ever withdraw money from that non-custodial wallet. Only the user can withdraw or upgrade from that contract.

MEV and priority tips go to a pool operated by stakefish. stakefish whitelists these secure wallets to withdraw from this pool. stakefish provides a dashboard on the website to assist users in withdrawing MEV and priority tips. Users can click the “claim” button to deliver MEV rewards and priority tips to their wallet.

NFT Owner Actions

The primary action owners of a stakefish Validator NFT can take is the transfer of ownership.

In itself, this NFT is like any other NFT. Yet, when ownership of the NFT transfers, the ownership of the validator changes along with it. The NFT carries control of the validator. Users can request validator exits with ownership of the NFT once withdrawals for Ethereum staking enable.

In the future, the owner of the NFT will be able to withdraw the principal deposit, protocol rewards, and the claiming of MEV fees and priority tips. Additionally, there are potential use cases to unlock such collateralization to get liquidity in the future.

Security

stakefish takes a long-term view when it comes to security. What we build now is very important. When we make it secure, we make it scalable. Trust is built into the contract.

The NFT manager, which is the portion of the contract that mints the NFT, is non-custodial. As a non-custodial contract, there is no developer wallet, no owner, and it cannot be upgradeable. Whatever stakefish deploys to the mainnet will be permanent. Doing so protects users from malicious attacks on the minting process. The only way to mint an NFT, as written in the smart contract, is to deposit 32 Ethereum.

We encourage users to safeguard the private keys for the wallet holding the NFTs and use hardware wallets for storage. stakefish has it as the highest priority to continue the non-custodial philosophy from end to end.

Stake & Mint Benefits

This product improves Ethereum staking in the following ways:

• One Single Step: Stakers can start staking with one single step through Validator NFTs. They do not have to go through additional steps to generate separate validator keys.
• Transfer Stake: Users can move their validator to their wallet. For example, a user can move the Validator NFT to a hardware wallet at a later date or transfer it to another party.
• Tax-Friendly Positions (1): A stakefish Ethereum validator NFT can represent assets in accounting (not just something that disappears when staked) and can be used to collateralize, which does not trigger the higher tax event as “selling” it.
• DeFi: Validator NFT assets can be integrated with DeFi. Users can potentially swap in and out of validators or use them as collateral.

As one of the largest and most trusted validators, stakefish has helped to stake over $1 billion worth of assets for both institutions and retail investors. stakefish has been providing validator infrastructure on Ethereum since the launch of The Beacon Chain in December 2020.

Now stakefish brings our same focus on secure, permissionless, community-focused non-custodial staking to Stake & Mint.

Stake. Mint. Earn.

The NFT staking flow

For updates and special announcements, follow our Twitter (@stakefish 🐠) and join our community on Telegram.

About stakefish

stakefish is the leading validator for Proof of Stake blockchains. With support for 20+ networks, our mission is to secure and contribute to this exciting new ecosystem while enabling our users to stake confidently.

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(1) We are not providing tax advice. Users should seek out competent tax advice for such products.