Dec 05 2023
Liquid Collective is pleased to announce the publication of the first open node operator performance methodology by its Node Operator Working Group. This significant development, spearheaded by Rated Labs in collaboration with industry leaders including Alluvial, Coinbase Cloud, Figment, and Staked, introduces an objective, standardized approach for evaluating professional ETH staking providers.
The working group has agreed on the Rated Validator Effectiveness Rating (RAVER) as the benchmark for measuring validator performance. Developed by Rated Labs, RAVER is already used by a number of ecosystem staking providers to monitor and benchmark their performance to their peers. By focusing on the deterministic aspects of validator performance onchain (i.e. the aspects that are within an operator’s control) RAVER not only provides a clear picture of the operational health of a validator cluster, but also signals toward the ability of an operator to collect the maximum potential rewards available to them in the long-term.
This benchmark examines a 3-month trailing period of Ethereum-wide validator performance using RAVER, filtering for professional-tier staking providers who operate 100+ nodes. This represents a substantial stake of ∼3200 ETH or more per operator, or over $7 million USD at the time of writing. The benchmark will be updated every 30 days to reflect the network’s current trailing performance.
These standardized metrics for measuring validator performance, publicly available under the Creative Commons CC BY-SA license, not only allow ecosystem participants to objectively assess staking providers, but also empowers staking providers themselves to benchmark and enhance their performance relative to their peers. This development promises a more transparent, competitive, and efficient staking environment, contributing significantly to the integrity and growth of Ethereum's $40+ billion staking sector.
“We're thrilled to have contributed to and via the RAVER be a core part of, a true industry first; a set of objective, transparent and reliable metrics that define and measure the performance of an active set of Ethereum validators. Establishing a common language and standards in infrastructure is both core to our mission as a company, as well as a vital next step for the industry's healthy evolution,” said Elias Simos, CEO and Co-Founder at Rated Labs.
“The v1 performance methodology published by Liquid Collective’s Node Operator working group addresses a crucial need in the Ethereum ecosystem: a unified, objective metric for measuring node operator performance,” said Dimiter Georgiev, Product Manager at Alluvial, a team supporting Liquid Collective’s development. “We hope that developing this shared understanding of benchmarking and measuring performance against peers will help to foster a more transparent, competitive, and efficient staking environment, contributing significantly to the integrity and growth of Ethereum's staking sector.”
"Having the ability to compare and contrast node operators is a natural desire for stakers," said Joshua Faier, Senior Product Manager of Staking Risk and Reporting at Figment. "The differentiator of this performance methodology is that it focuses on aspects within an operator's control. This is a much more effective way of evaluating a node operator, as opposed to the more commonly-used unadjusted Staking Reward Rate (SRR)."
"At Coinbase Cloud, we see this work is a testament to our collective efforts as part of the Node Operator Working Group and I personally am excited to see this pioneering open-source performance methodology,” said Josh Leavitt, Director of Product Management at Coinbase Cloud. "The introduction of RAVER as a benchmark tool provides a clear, objective, and controlled measure of a validator's performance. We are proud to have been a part of this working group, building toward a more transparent and efficient staking ecosystem."
Publishing the Node Operator Performance Standards is the first release of Liquid Collective’s validator performance and security standards initiative announced in July 2023. Liquid Collective aims to use the completed performance methodology to define and implement performance benchmarks, service level agreements (SLAs), and missed rewards policies for the protocol’s active set of Node Operators.
Liquid Collective hopes this initiative will enable stakeholders to objectively assess whether staking providers are performing their validator duties optimally, ensuring a robust and transparent staking environment as participation in PoS ecosystems expands.
To provide feedback on the methodology, please open an Issue in the repository here, or, use this form. Stay up-to-date with the latest developments from Liquid Collective’s Node Operator Working Group by following Liquid Collective on X, LinkedIn, or subscribing to monthly Liquid Collective Updates.
