Meet the Key Actors of the SafeStake Network: Operators, Validators and the ParaState DAO
ParaState DAO is a blockchain community that has created a Non-custodial staking infrastructure for Ethereum 2.0 called SafeStake.
While it is true that users cannot yet withdraw rewards directly from the ETH 2.0 staking contract, solutions such as SafeStake allow us to jump ahead of this milestone to be enabled in Phase 2 of the Ethereum 2.0 roadmap.
SafeStake allows users through state-of-the-art technology developed by the ParaState team to obtain staking rewards with a low barrier to entry in a single click, without the need to maintain complex infrastructure to execute ETH2.0 Staking.
To accomplish this, the SafeStake Network — a trust-minimized middle-layer fostering the decentralization of ETH2.0 Staking — requires key actors such as Operators and Validators for its efficient operation in accordance with its architecture design.
Let’s learn a little about who these actors are and what functions they perform within the SafeStake architecture.
Validators
Validators play a very important role within any blockchain protocol and SafeStake is no exception. In essence, they are in charge of verifying the transactions that occur there and are largely responsible for the security and stability of the blockchain network.
In SafeStake, the Validator is in charge of running validation and proposes blocks to help run decentralized consensus on the Ethereum network.
To become a Validator in PoS systems, the user or entity needs to lock a certain number of coins from the protocol where they wish to participate. In Ethereum PoS, the pre-configured minimum range is 32 ETH per Validator.
However, in SafeStake this threshold is segmented into minipools of 8 ETH so that the number of Validators can be larger and thus help the decentralization and security of the network.
Users who need to join SafeStake with 8 ETH just need to select 4 Operators of their choice from an available list, and run the distributed key generation protocol to the Operators.
This process allows the creation of a minipool where the respective 8 ETH is deposited, so that this minipool runs in a queue until the 32 ETH is reached (along with other minipools) to activate the staking in the Beacon Chain of Ethereum 2.0.
Although by default the network will randomly choose a set of Validators to vouch for the transaction, in SafeStake, a validation task will be performed by the Operator nodes selected from the Validators during the setup.
Thus, the user must specify a validation public key and a withdrawal address where the staker’s assets and rewards remain frozen until transfers are enabled in Ethereum 2.0 (Phase 2 ETH roadmap).
It is important to note that the Validator key is secured and not stored anywhere and never sent to our servers. SafeStake is a completely non-custodial infrastructure.
Also, please note that unlike other protocols, our validation process do not need to count on an oracle to monitor the Operators and whether they attempt to front-run to claim all ETH deposit when it exits from the Beacon chain.
Operator
Another key player in SafeStake are ETH 2.0 Staking service providers called Operators.
Operators provide hardware/software infrastructure, run the SafeStake protocol, and are responsible for maintaining the overall health of the network. In exchange, they are compensated with a fee for their core services to the SafeStake network for operating the network and maintaining Validators.
Operator nodes on SafeStake will keep querying duties from the Beacon Chain and running the threshold signing scheme with HotStuff consensus amongst the nodes to verify and propose blocks to the Beacon Chain, to fulfill ETH2.0 validation tasks for the Validator.
Therefore, they are in charge of keeping the software that runs on the nodes updated, as well as guaranteeing the necessary activity uptime for validation within ETH 2.0 Staking, in order to reduce the possibilities of slashing due to inactivity that affects the set of users participating in SafeStake.
The Operator will hold Validators’ validation key shares and provide professional ETH 2.0 staking duties for the Validators. One of its main functions is precisely to eliminate and periodically update the key shares of the clients to ensure the decentralization and security of the network.
In SafeStake, as part of the security measures to guarantee an optimal operating service without compromising network security or decentralization, the Operators establish nodes in different geographical areas .
Thus, if a malicious actor manages to hijack a node, it does not compromise the rest of the network and it will continue to function optimally, reducing the risk of single failure.
The SafeStake staking contract contains a list of node Operators, their keys, and the logic for distributing rewards among them.
To join as one of the network Operators on the SafeStake Network, you need to follow these 2 steps:
- Install the SafeStake node
- And then register as an Operator on SafeStake to enable others to discover and select you as one of the Validator’s Operators.
ParaState is introducing an early access program for a limited number of Operators for the Galileo testnet. Secure your spot by submitting an onboarding form as soon as you can. The Verified Operators will be eligible for:
✅ Early access to the Testnet
✅ Incentivized Testnet Rewards
✅ ParaState Governance NFTs
Secure your ‘ETH2.0 Staking Operator’ spot now!
The early access onboarding form for ‘Operators’
The upcoming SafeStake incentivized Galileo testnet will have two stages. The first stage is to run the testnet with 32 ETH default threshold setting of Beacon chain. The registration flow of Validator is the same as a normal validator who holds 32 ETH to register on Beacon chain directly.
After the first stage of the testnet is stable, the second stage is to run the testnet with a lower threshold — 8 ETH. And the registration flow of Validator who holds 8 ETH is shown on the above Validator section.
ParaState DAO
A third key player in the process of ETH2.0 Staking in SafeStake and undoubtedly an essential one is the ParaState DAO. ParaState is the party who built the SafeStake network, and is also responsible for governance and maintenance.
Without a DAO, users would be forced to follow precepts contrary to the spirit of decentralization such as trusting closed and focused entities to operate the staking in SafeStake, turning it into a single point of failure.
Instead, when the ParaState DAO establishes the operation, maintenance and governance of ETH 2.0 Staking on SafeStake, the governance of the parameters established for the operation of this activity is distributed to a decentralized community, thus reducing the risk for the user.
SafeStake users can rest assured they are in good hands. ParaState DAO members will consist of a group of Validators, Operators and holders of STATE, the native token of the ParaState ecosystem.
About ParaState
ParaState takes Ethereum chain support to the next level through WasmEdge. Develop and execute high-speed smart contracts with built-in Ethereum compatibility (EVM and EWASM) and interoperability in next-level programming languages like Rust, C ++, and Golang.
ParaState is participating in ETH2.0 PoS Staking with a new tech stack called SafeStake, a trust-minimized, middle-layer fostering the decentralization of ETH2.0 staking. SafeStake is a non-custodial infrastructure for distributed validator technology written in Rust, implementing HotStuff consensus and Threshold signing architecture to provide more robust security for ETH 2.0 PoS.
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