About Rocket Pool (RPL)

What is Rocket Pool (RPL) ?

Rocket Pool is a decentralized staking pool for Ethereum 2.0, designed to lower the hardware and capital requirements for ETH 2.0 staking. It aims to make Ethereum's staking more accessible and decentralized, allowing users, DApps, and enterprises to profit from staking their ETH holdings on the beacon chain.

History of Rocket Pool (RPL)

Who Are The Rocket Pool Founders?

Rocket Pool was created by Dave Rugendyke and Darren Langley in 2017.

Dave Rugendyke - CEO of Rocket Pool. Dave has an experienced software engineering background as a senior engineer at enterprise software vendors. His passion for blockchain and crypto led to the creation of the Rocket Pool project.

Darren Langley - Technical Director of Rocket Pool. Darren is a seasoned full-stack developer involved in building successful SaaS projects in the early Web 2.0 era. He leads the development of Rocket Pool's core protocol and smart contracts.

History

Early 2017 - Dave Rugendyke and Darren Langley started conceptualizing the Rocket Pool prototype. First whitepaper drafted explaining the vision and mission.

Mid 2017 - Rocket Pool project publicly announced along with detailed token economics and incentives design.

Early 2018 - Launched first Rocket Pool testnet including staking programs, UI and hosted node implementations. Attracted test users and community participation.

End 2019 - Second major testnet version launched featuring key RPL token & DAO governance capabilities.

Early 2020 - Closed $2M seed funding for ongoing development and operations.

2021 - Rocket Pool Testnet v2 ongoing iterations enhancing all core capabilities preparing for mainnet launch.

Mid 2022 - Completed $4.1M raise valuing Rocket Pool at $192M for mainnet launch.

September 2022 - Rocket Pool official mainnet launch on Ethereum, establishing itself as a leading decentralized staking solution.

How Does Rocket Pool (RPL) Work?

Key features of Rocket Pool include:

• Smart Contracts: These issue and track various tokens, handle staked ETH deposits, interact with the beacon chain, and assign them to node operators. They also manage the network's smart nodes and can disable a node if it fails.
• Smart Node Network: This is a decentralized network of special Ethereum nodes running Rocket Pool node software. It provides network consensus for the beacon chain and allows any user with 16 ETH to participate in operating a smart node, earning additional rewards from the network.
• Minipool Validators: Node operators create these smart contracts, which collect ETH from users of the staking pool. When a Minipool contains 32 ETH, the funds are sent to the beacon chain to initiate staking, allowing the staked ETH to earn rewards.

Rocket Pool also offers liquidity and interoperability for staked ETH through its tokenized staking system and smart node network. Additionally, it has plans to develop a fully on-chain decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) powered by RPL governance, allowing community members to change protocol settings and oversee significant updates.

Rocket Pool vs. LIDO DAO

Rocket Pool and Lido are both decentralized staking services on Ethereum, but with some key differences:

Centralization:

• Rocket Pool is a fully DAO-decentralized staking pool for management and operations.
• Lido has a nominated governance council for more centralized governance.

Decentralization Incentives:

• Rocket Pool pursues maximal decentralization through its RPL token and node reward incentives.
• Lido incentives favor operating large nodes more heavily.

Ease of Use:

• Lido directly supports staking major tokens like ETH.
• Rocket Pool requires converting to rETH token first.

Returns and Fees:

• Rocket Pool charges a lower commission taken as RPL rebates.
• Lido charges a higher 10% commission rate.

Tokenomics

What Is Rocket Pool (RPL) Used For？

The primary use cases for the RPL (Rocket Pool) token are:

Node Deposits: Operating a Rocket Pool node requires a deposit, part of which must be staked in RPL tokens. This ensures node operators are invested in the shared fate of RPL and Rocket Pool for greater security.

DAO Governance: RPL holders can participate in decentralized governance of the Rocket Pool DAO through proposals and voting weighted by RPL ownership.

Node Rewards: A portion of node operator earnings is distributed in RPL tokens. This incentivizes standing up more nodes and further decentralizing the network.

Delegator Rebates: Rocket Pool stakers receive RPL rebates from commission fees as an added reward.

Token Distribution

The initial max supply of the RPL token is 1.8 billion. The token allocation ratios are:

• Public/Private Sales: 20% Early investors to provide initial funding
• Founders Reward: 10%Allocated to Rocket Pool founding team members
• Node Reward Reserves: 35% For continued incentives to operate decentralized nodes
• Rocket Pool DAO Reserves: 30%Owned by Rocket Pool DAO for governance, operations, incentives and community support
• Bug Bounty and Security Rewards: 5% For bounty programs addressing security issues and vulnerabilities

This token is not static; it undergoes a projected 5% annual inflation, with the current distribution structured as follows:

• 70% of the newly created tokens are allocated to node operators who stake RPL.
• 15% is channeled to members of the oDAO (Oracle Data Organization) in recognition of their contribution.
• The remaining 15% is deposited into the pDAO Treasury, securing the protocol's financial foundation.

Highlights

Some of the biggest highlights and milestones for Rocket Pool include:

September 2022 - Official mainnet launch on Ethereum, an important achievement after years of hard work from the Rocket Pool team

July 2022 - $4.1 million funding round from prominent VCs closed, signaling confidence in Rocket Pool's future growth

October 2021 - Rocket Pool 2.0 new testnet launch showcasing full feature set of core protocol & dApp ahead of mainnet

March 2020 - Released 1.0 version whitepaper with details on updated incentive design and RPL distribution schedules

March 2018 - First public testnet release attracted developer and community participation for testing