# Web3 Money Trees = Ethereum Validators By [Kent Philly](https://paragraph.com/@kentphilly) · 2023-11-29 --- [Money](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=money&highlightedUpdateUrns=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7134280601141968897) grows on the tree of persistence... [Ethereum](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=ethereum&highlightedUpdateUrns=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7134280601141968897) grows on the tree of decentralized node operators who lock up their [ETH](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=eth&highlightedUpdateUrns=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7134280601141968897) to earn passive income 24/7/365 via staking with Ethereum staking providers. This is called staking and [Rocket\_Pool](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=rocket_pool&highlightedUpdateUrns=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7134280601141968897) is the leader in decentralized staking aka [#stakefromhome](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=stakefromhome&highlightedUpdateUrns=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7134280601141968897) or anywhere with full-custody and no need to trust Sam Bankman Fraud or anyone else.... just the global community of Rocket Pool Node Operators and the Ethereum community. I'm blessed to have [Coinmonks](https://www.linkedin.com/company/coinmonks/) highlight one of our blog posts of why [Rocket Pool](https://www.linkedin.com/company/rocket-pool/) here below 👇 . ### Key Article Highlights Rocket Pool has product market fit as the leading decentralized Ethereum staking protocol today in 2023 with [over $1Billion](https://defillama.com/lsd) in ETH staked through the open-source protocol. Rocket Pool makes at-home Ethereum staking and Ethereum node validation easier easy for everyone, anywhere, and this is a big deal. After years of research and testing, I came to the firm belief that Ethereum and Ethereum Virtual Machine ecosystems are the most important web3 building blocks. On top of being the most developed technical ecosystem, Ethereum earns the most income on a consistent basis, and far more than any other “Core Infrastructure” competitor in the smart-contract platform ecosystem. ![Cryptofees.info](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/5a9e394d6636a4c53ed317a43e46d59fbc2d5a0b41d22b81a5be393dbc179c58.png) Cryptofees.info To be successful as a Web3 base layer building block, the blockchain smart-contract network must be decentralization with regards to validation. **Blockchains like Ethereum provide a trust network that offers a censorship-resistant economy on the internet to anyone.** Once I came to these two conclusions in 2022 I decided out how to support Ethereum with decentralization while also maximizing my profits as an Ethereum staker and validator. With some research and talking to friends, we found out about Rocket Pool, the “_friendly decentralized Ethereum staking protocol_”. **What does this value proposition of the “friendly decentralized Ethereum staking protocol” even mean?** ========================================================================================================= [Rocket Pool](https://rocketpool.net/) is focused on reducing the barriers to staking Ethereum for any size investor anywhere in the world. Ethereum holders (long-term investors) can earn an Ethereum network risk-free rate of return by locking up their $ETH. To ensure network safety, 32 $ETH is required to stake Ethereum on your own with an independent Ethereum staking node. Not many people can afford 32 $ETH to run a full node. Rocket Pool has lowered this barrier to 16 $ETH and soon will lower the barrier to 8 $ETH for independent Ethereum staking node. **Rocket Pool figured out how to lower the barrier to at-home staking without decreasing the security of Ethereum.** Reference: [https://rocketscan.io/nodes](https://rocketscan.io/nodes) Rocketpool’s novel solution ensures Ethereum’s security thresholds are met with less $ETH locked up. This innovation along with their liquid staking derivative product [$rETH](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/rocket-pool-eth) in combination provides a unique value proposition to global investors. Stepping back, here is an introduction to Rocket Pool and then links to suggested references to dive deeper down the rabbit hole. Learn to earn passive income with full-control through [EthereumStakingGuide.com](http://ethereumstakingguide.com/). Do your own research along with me and other experts like [Sunshine Barhorst](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunshine-barhorst-dnp-32ab6942/) who are committed to providing the highest quality information on self-custody Ethereum staking and node operator opportunities via [SheNodes](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=shenodes&highlightedUpdateUrns=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7134280601141968897) and [EthereumStakingGuide](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=ethereumstakingguide&highlightedUpdateUrns=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7134280601141968897). Why Rocket Pool? ---------------- Rocket Pool’s Value Offering Rocket Pool offers three main value propositions to investors looking to stake Ethereum. 1. Lower entry to running an $ETH validator at home or to stake ETH with trust in a decentralized node validator base. Launch a Rocket Pool Ethereum node with 10.4 $ETH instead of 32 $ETH. Stake Ethereum through rETH with tokenized staking. Convert 0.1+ of $ETH to $rETH and stake Ethereum. 2. Stake Ethereum from your own hardware wallet anywhere in the world safely in your own custody. — Keep your keys and your crypto while earning interest. 3. Decentralized governance with no central counterparty. — All of the code is on-chain and the community is an intelligent group of developers, investors, hobbyists, and educators who are promoting a permissionless decentralized Ethereum through their DAO. Coinbase Ventures and Consensys are both within the community and on the governance board. Why Should You Care? -------------------- Some analysts and investors like us believe that Ethereum will set the default web3 return rate. Raoul Paul coined this term earlier this year on The Scoop podcast. You should have a full listen, but if you don’t have time, the summary is that $ETH’s staking rate will most likely become the most important risk-free rate of return in web3. > _“We are going to end up creating a benchmark web3 interest rate of which we can assess other risks against, so that makes risk management slightly more transparent.”_ @Raoul Paul Staked Ethereum is now predicted to be the most important web3 digital asset. Move on over $BTC, albeit you are the largest, oldest, and most liquid cryptocurrency, the facts that the Bitcoin ecosystem is slow-moving and compared to ‘digital gold’, the Bitcoin value network has a limited market potential. Ethereum the #2 cryptocurrency on the other hand is a fast-moving, ESG-friendly ecosystem built with composable finance and user-owned content (property rights) as two leading industries for global digital economies. Ethereum is thought of as ‘internet money’ to some and to crypto enthusiasts, Ethereum is known as ultrasound money and it is the platform for a new global economy built on a user-owned internet (aka at-home $ETH stakers through Rocket Pool). I believe that [Liquid Staking Derivates](https://mirror.xyz/stakerocketpool.eth/SgqYMyT5N0JOvU-hgW5dP_996ThMmTjRAy5XbI6tDes) (LSDs) are the future of Ethereum staking and Rocket Pool will continue to lead the way as a market leader for liquid staking investors via [rETH](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/rocket-pool-eth) and also node operators via minipools with ~10.4 ETH & RPL or ~17.6 ETH & RPL. **Additional Resources to Dive Deeper** ======================================= This is just the tip of the iceberg on this topic of our love and support for Rocket Pool. Here are some great resources to dive deeper: * [Rocket Pool Docs — Introduction](https://docs.rocketpool.net/overview/) — Documentation * [Rocket Pool Discord](https://discord.com/invite/rocketpool) — Chat — talk with the team and community * [Rocket Pool Community Hub](https://medium.com/) — Guide to all community resources * [Rocket Pool Daily Updates](https://www.youtube.com/c/RocketFuel-RPL) -Youtube, @Rocket Fuel * [Liquid Staking & rETH — The Endgame](https://mirror.xyz/stakerocketpool.eth/SgqYMyT5N0JOvU-hgW5dP_996ThMmTjRAy5XbI6tDes) (Blog) [Stake RocketPool](https://medium.com/u/bb3d7b23580a?source=post_page-----7788a58a8725--------------------------------) * [The Bull Case for Rocket Pool](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQK9Yr1BpQw) (Youtube, @Bankless) * [Rocket Pool Daily Updates](https://www.youtube.com/c/RocketFuel-RPL) -Youtube, @Rocket Fuel * [Rocket Pool Community Dashboard](https://dune.com/NDGcrypto/Rocket-Pool-rETH-and-Nodes) (Analytics) * [Pop, Lock, and Rocket](https://messari.io/report/pop-lock-and-rocket?referrer=all-research) (Paid Research, @Messari) Thanks for your time. Best of luck in doing your own research on Ethereum staking and reach out and/or collect this post if you’re interested in (virtual) mentorship or guidance for how you can become an Ethereum validator. --- *Originally published on [Kent Philly](https://paragraph.com/@kentphilly/web3-money-trees-ethereum-validators)*