EthStaker Project

Guardians of the Ether

Keeping Ethereum Decentralized

About Guardians of the Ether

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THE PROBLEM

Guardians ofthe Ether was created to combat the centralization forces that Ethereum faces at the staking layer. While the incentive structure around staking makes liquid staking an attractive model, it unfortunately concentrates a large portion of the stake in the hands of a few node operators. Operating your own node requires significant time and energy, often with minimal incremental yield.

Learn more about the centralization problem here.

We initiated this project to provide an additional incentive for individuals to stake and operate their own nodes, thereby helping to maintain Ethereum's decentralization. Participants who do so will receive a non-transferable NFT, which can be upgraded annually as they continue staking, giving a sense of character progression.

Non-Transferable NFTs

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THE SOLUTION

These NFTs are non-transferable and, as such, have no monetary value. However, they can be utilized in a variety of meaningful ways, as determined by the EthStaker community.

Potential use cases:

  • Status and Recognition: These NFTs symbolize your commitment to Ethereum's decentralization, granting you recognition within the community.
  • Exclusive Access: NFTs can gate access to special events, such as exclusive side events at conferences for stakers, or provide discounts on tickets.
  • Airdrops: Projects wishing to support the Ethereum community might airdrop tokens to NFT holders, knowing these tokens are owned by dedicated node operators who cannot sell or transfer them.
  • Community Membership: The NFTs can signify membership in the EthStaker community and serve as a basis for various polls and community governance. The community might also grant more weight to the votes of those who have been staking for longer, and therefore have higher-level NFTs.
  • Unique Art: Each NFT features a unique piece of art, with some mints being rarer than others. Learn more about the art here.
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THE SOLUTION (Option #2)

Incentivizing Node Operators


To combat this problem, we need to incentivize stakers to operate their own nodes (either by solo staking or by becoming a node operator RocketPool). Either action contributes to keeping Ethereum decentralized, which is absolutely critical to the long-term success of Ethereum.

This is what inspired the ‘NFT for Node Operators’ project.

Project Contributors

How it started

Writing result-oriented ad copy is difficult, as it must appeal to, entice, and convince consumers to take action.

The project was created by Leo Glisic, founder of Maitri. Leo has been a member of the Ethereum community since 2017, and has been staking since the January 2021.

‍Initial Funding: We received initial funding through a Gitcoin round, which allowed us to run an art contest. The funds were distributed among the top five artists.

‍Winning Artist: The EthStaker community selected Xofee as the winning artist, and he has continued to collaborate with us. He's been fantastic!

‍Whitelist Providers: Address whitelists were generously provided by GLCStaked and StakeCat.

‍Development Team: All development and website design work has been done pro bono by the Maitri team. Major contributors are Kyndle Maltz and Cait Chizmar.

We are grateful for the contributions and support from these incredible individuals and organizations, who have made this project possible.

Security

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THE SOLUTION

At Guardiansof the Ether, we prioritize transparency and security. All our code isopen-source and available for review at these two repos:

You can also review the NFT smart contract here.

In future releases, we will be adding the capability to generateyour signature offline so that you don’t have to connect your staking addresswallet online.In addition, you will also be able to mint to a target addresswhich is different from your staking address.

Important disclaimers:

  • Be Cautious: Always be careful about what you sign with your wallet. Ensure that you fully understand the implications of any transactions or interactions.
  • Verify Links: Only use official links provided by Guardians of the Ether to avoid phishing attempts and malicious websites.
  • Community Support: If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to us here within the EthStaker server.

Thank You

How it started

Writing result-oriented ad copy is difficult, as it must appeal to, entice, and convince consumers to take action.

Thank you to all the node operators for your commitment to keeping Ethereum decentralized. Your dedication is vital to the future of Ethereum, and we are grateful to be part of this journey with you.

How it works
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Anything else?

Although only one NFT will be issued per operator at any one time, multiple NFTs will be issued over time.

Node operators will receive one NFT pre-merge, and another post-merge, and then another every 12 months.

Each type can be combined w/ subsequent types, so node operators can progress over time.

This gives a sense of 'character progression' as people stake longer, and grants bragging rights to those who have been staking the longest.

Ultimately, it not only incentivizes operating a node, but to continue operating it over time.

Title

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Seniority
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About this project

The staking community should issue NFTs to node operators (direct stakers as well as RocketPool node operators) as an added incentive to operate a node instead of simply staking by minting stETH or rETH.

Beautifully Designed

Writing result-oriented ad copy is difficult, as it must appeal to, entice, and convince consumers to take action.

100% Responsive

Writing result-oriented ad copy is difficult, as it must appeal to, entice, and convince consumers to take action.

Smooth Interactions

Writing result-oriented ad copy is difficult, as it must appeal to, entice, and convince consumers to take action.

CMS Content

Writing result-oriented ad copy is difficult, as it must appeal to, entice, and convince consumers to take action.

Global Swatches

Writing result-oriented ad copy is difficult, as it must appeal to, entice, and convince consumers to take action.

Great Support

Writing result-oriented ad copy is difficult, as it must appeal to, entice, and convince consumers to take action.

How You Can Help

Call for Art Submissions

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We are asking for help from the artist community to help us determine the NFT art style, and subsequently create the NFT art for the selected style.

From the submissions, the project management team will select their top five, and present those five style choices to the ETH Staker community for a vote. The winning style will be used to generate 10K+ unique combinations of NFTs, one for each address.

Here is a video showing one way that could be done.

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COMPENSATION

Cash Rewards

APPLY

The budget for this project is $5700 and that entire amount will be paid to artists as follows:

-  The final winner will receive $3500
-  The second through fifth place artists will receive $550 each

The final winner will work with the project team to generate the required number of unique NFTs. Rights for artwork associated with the winning submission will be transferred to respective NFT holders. All other artists will retain all rights to their art and will be free to use / resell their submitted art as they see fit.

The Criteria

What does a winning submission look like?

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A winning submission will have three pieces:

The proposed NFT art style.

Image(s) to illustrate the style. At least one image is required, but several could help show the range of the suggested style.

Your creative vision for how this style could evolve in terms of future progressions. No additional art is required for this item, we just want to make sure that we are properly setting up a foundation to build upon.

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LIKE THIS

Can you give me an example?


Let’s say the proposed NFT style is ‘GangsterCats’

Some image examples might be:


A progression vision might be that the gangster cats will evolve over time into gangster lynxes, and then gangster cheetahs, and then gangster lions.  Or another vision might be that the gangster cats will evolve into organized crime cats, and then small-town politician cats, and then bureau-cats.

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How it works

Vote for your favorite Art Style




We have selected the top five finalists for the NFT Art Style, and need the community’s help in selecting the winning style!
‍
You can find all the finalists here

Voting is taking place on the Eth Staker discord server
The poll is pinned in the channel called 'ethstaker-incentives-nft'

You can join the server here:

https://discord.com/invite/ucsTcA2wTq


The poll will be open until midnight (PST) on Dec 23rd, 2022

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WINNER

Congratulations, XoFee!!

The polls are closed and we have a winner!

Huge shoutout to all the artists who participated- there were so many amazing submissions!

Looking forward to working with Xofee to generate nearly 13,000 unique Network Watchers for stakers helping to secure the Ethereum network.

Artist: XoFee

View full submission
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COMMUNITY

Get Connected

DISCORD