Eth2's Rocket Pool Scores $350M TVL and 635 Node Operators in 5 Weeks

Rocket Pool, a decentralized Ethereum 2.0 staking platform, has surpassed $350 million in Total Value Locked (TVL) within five weeks of its official launch.

The project aims to remove barriers to entry for Eth2 stakers and node operators. It allows any user to run a node for 16 ETH ($59,000), half of the 32 ETH ($119,000) required by the Eth2 staking contract. Users holding as little as 0.01 ETH can also stake their funds and earn yield.

According to DefiLlama, Rocket Pool has rapidly climbed the ranks among decentralized finance (DeFi) staking platforms, ranking third with a TVL of $355.64 million as of writing. The project is currently trailing Keep3r Network ($584.34 million) and Lido Finance ($604 million, first place).

Launched in December 2020, Lido Finance currently surpasses its competitors in terms of TVL, but it only has 14 node operators as of Q4 2021.

In comparison, Rocket Pool has around 635 node operators, which the platform says contributes more to ethereum’s decentralization. Around 67,000 ETH (worth over $252 million) is staked, with the rest of the TVL coming from the platform’s own token, RPL.

The project was officially launched on November 22. In the previous two weeks, Rocket Pool successfully launched the beta version. In two days, Rocket Pool registered 237 node operators, and a total of 1088 ETH were pledged.

The project cites its decentralization, liquid staking pools, commissions, and staking returns as its main selling points. The platform also allows users to stake their ETH and earn rETH tokens based on their holdings, which also accrue staking rewards over time.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Darren Langley, managing director of Rocket Pool, said that the platform’s decentralization was a key reason for its strong launch, noting:

“There is a lot of underlying demand for decentralized options in the staking market — it just needs our launch to spark a fire.”

He added: “If you respect the principles of Ethereum, you stake with a decentralized pool. From an Ethereum perspective, a decentralized pool is as safe as a single stake. Operational decentralization is extremely important."

When asked how Rocket Pool will be preparing for the long-awaited transition to Eth2 and the shift to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism scheduled for mid-2022, Langley said this will open up many opportunities for users.

“After the merger, liquid staking will become more profitable, so we expect a surge in interest,” he said, adding, “Validators will start receiving the priority fees that PoW miners currently receive.”

Looking ahead to 2022, Langley also noted that the company hopes to increase the adoption of its liquid rETH token and expand services on the platform.

"We want rETH to be ubiquitous in the Ethereum ecosystem, so we're focusing on DeFi integrations (automated market makers, lending, wallets, farms). Additionally, we'll leverage the second layer to optimize every aspect of Rocket Pool."

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