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FAQ

1.What is non-custodial ETH Staking service?​

The ETH Staking service provided by Ebunker is non-custodial. What we have is the signature key of the validator nodes, instead of the mnemonic phrase, nor the user's assets. With this signature Key (Keystore), all we can do is packaging and signing the transactions for you. Therefore, unlike centralized exchanges or other DeFi projects, Ebunker can ensure the security of your staking assets.

2. Can I withdraw my staked ETH?​

You can apply to withdraw your ETH from the Ethereum Beacon network at any time. The withdrawal time depends on the network queue, usually taking 0-2 days. You can check here: https://www.validatorqueue.com/

3.Where will I receive my staked ETH after withdrawal?​

When using tools such as Wagyu to generate Keystore, you can set the asset withdrawal address. Once the withdrawal address A is set, the staked assets and the consensus rewards will be transferred to this address when you withdraw. If this address is not set, the default address will be the same as the address used to set up the mnemonic phrase.

4.Why should I safely keep the mnemonic phrase?​

The mnemonic phrase is the only way to generate the validator’s signature Key (Keystore) and withdrawal key. Once lost, the withdrawal key cannot be generated, hence the assets cannot be withdrawn. In addition, when generating the signature Key (Keystore), the default withdrawal address is the one used to set up the mnemonic phrase. When withdrawn, the staked assets and the consensus rewards will be sent to the default address. If the mnemonic phrase is leaked, the malicious hacker can use it to regenerate the signature Key and cause validators to be punished, resulting in the loss of staked assets. Therefore, it is very important to keep the mnemonic phrase safe.

5.What are the components of the staking rewards?​

Once participated in ETH staking and activating the nodes, you will receive the following rewards:

Consensus Layer base reward​

  • This part of the reward is the basic yield for ETH staking, which is distributed to validators from the ETH consensus layer.

Consensus Layer block reward​

  • This is an extra reward for successful block producers. On the consensus layer, when a validator successfully packs and submits a block, it will receive a one-time consensus layer block reward. Ethereum will randomly select 32 validators from the network every 6.4 minutes to generate blocks in turn.

Consensus Layer sync committee reward​

  • This is also an extra reward for validators who got randomly assigned to the sync committee. On the consensus layer, when a validator is selected to participate in the sync committee and fulfill the duties, it will continuously receive rewards from 8196 blocks of the sync committee. On average, the sync committee will randomly select 512 validators from the network to join the committee every 27 hours.

Executive Layer block rewards​

  • This part of the reward is a regular fee reward for validators that successfully propose blocks. On the execution layer, once the validator successfully packs and submits a block, it will receive a part of the execution layer’s fee rewards, which comes from the fees paid by users in the Ethereum network after burning according to EIP-1559 and is proportional to the Gas Price.

Execution Layer MEV rewards​

  • Validators receive the MEV reward for successfully proposing blocks. MEV is the maximum extractable value. In the block production process, the external searcher can gain by including, excluding, reordering, or ignoring transactions. This part of the gain will be shared with the Staking validators in the form of fees.

6. How can I receive my real-time staking rewards?​

The consensus layer rewards (fixed consensus layer reward, block reward from the consensus layer) will be directly allocated to your node balance. These rewards will be automatically scanned by Ethereum and periodically transferred to the address you designate.

Execution layer rewards (block rewards, MEV rewards) will be collected in the Ebunker mining pool address first, and will be distributed to you in proportion according to the number of validators and the snapshot of participation rate, and can be claimed at any time.

7. Will the staked ETH be at any risk ?​

Technically speaking, your ETH will be locked in the official Ethereum staking contract, which has almost no risk. In addition, Ebunker has profound experience in the Ethereum security infrastructure, which can prevent your validators from penalties to the greatest extent.

8. Under what circumstances will validators be penalized?​

Regarding the on-chain penalty mechanism, there are two types of penalties in the ETH staking:

Offline Penalty​

  • The penalties for missing the target and source votes are equal to the rewards the attestor would have received had they submitted them. For example, if your validator can get a 0.001 ETH reward per hour, when you are offline, the penalty amount will also be 0.001 ETH per hour.
  • The offline penalty will be deducted from the validator's balance. We have monitored the validators for 24 hours to ensure the participation and effective rate of the validators, so as to avoid the occurrence of offline penalties to the greatest extent.

Slash​

  • Slashing is a more severe action that results in the forceful removal of a validator from the network and an associated loss of their staked ether. Ebunker’s validator software has built-in protection measures, and Ebunker validators will always behave correctly. In addition, if your Ethereum has been staked in other staking pools, please do not re-stake in Ebunker, which may cause “double voting” problems.

9. Why join the Ebunker staking pool?​

  • Individuals who run their own validators have a lower chance of being chosen to propose a block in each slot. They can only obtain base rewards from the consensus layer, resulting in low staking yields.
  • Node operation and maintenance consumes a lot of resources and efforts, and the cost of a server running on a single validator is as high as 500$/month. Node operators have to upgrade validator softwares from periodically, otherwise the validators will be offline and their stability is difficult to guarantee.
  • Unlike the centralized staking pool services, which will have the control of your staked assets, Ebunker is completely decentralized and will not have the private key for your assets. Ebunker utilizes asymmetric encryption to protect your node files and ensures the safety of your assets. There’s no third-party risks.
  • Ebunker has a professional team to take in charge of the operation and maintenance of the validators.
  • Ebunker developed an ETH staking pool that can largely increase the probability of block production and stability of validators. In addition, we have integrated mechanisms such as MEV to increase validators’ rewards.
  • The validators in the Ebunker staking pool can share the so called “Staking Luck” and stable block production mechanism, hence will receive more Staking rewards.
  • The Ethereum Foundation's native Depositor contract was deployed in 2020 and currently only supports single validator staking, which meaning that only 32 ETH can be staked at a time. When users stake multiple validators, they have to go through repetitive operations on their wallet. This not only increases the GAS fees for the transactions, but also make it more likely to trigger errors.
  • Therefore, Ebunker developed the batch staking contract, which can suppot multiple validators staking at once. Ebunker provides easy to use, low-cost, and secure ETH staking solutions for end users.

11. Is the Ebunker batch staking contract safe?​

  • Yes it is. The Ebunker batch staking contract is a wrapper contract, and its only job is to batch call the Ethereum Foundation's batch Depositor contract, bundling multiple Depositor transactions into one. The contract does not touch the user's funds and its logic is clear and simple.
  • All codes are open source and have been audited by the industry-leaders in blockchain security such as SlowMist.

12. How long does it take to queue for staking ETH?​

According to Ethereum's staking mechanism, you can join the Ethereum staking at any time through eBunker. However, after staking, you need to queue to start validating network blocks, and there is no income during the queueing period. You can check here: https://www.validatorqueue.com/