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Opting-in as a Validator

Participation of L1 validators in the mev-commit protocol is crucial as it enhances the integrity of commitments and ensures their enforcement. This document details the steps required to join mev-commit as a Holesky validator.

Validators are able to opt-in to mev-commit on L1 in any of the following ways:

  1. Eigenlayer enabled native restaking with the MevCommitAVS.
  2. Symbiotic enabled ERC20 restaking with the MevCommitMiddleware.
  3. “Vanilla” staking ETH with the VanillaRegistry.

Relevant contract addresses can be found on the testnet page.

As a Holesky validator opting into the mev-commit protocol, ensure your mev-boost client connects only to mev-commit relays to avoid slashing for proposing blocks without delivering commitments.

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Requirements

By opting-in to the mev-commit protocol as a Holesky validator in any of the three forms described, you agree to the following:

  • Your mev-boost client should ONLY connect to mev-commit opted in relays to avoid being slashed by proposing a block that doesn’t deliver commitments. The Titan Holesky relay is the only supporting relay at this time as shown in the list below. This list will be updated as more relays support the network.

Supporting Relays:

RelayDocs
Titandocs.titanrelay.xyz

If you are a relay looking to join the mev-commit network please visit our Relays page to get more information.

Proposers who fallback to local block production, from either a fault in the mev-boost software or a lack of economically viable block bids, will not be slashed. See flashbots docs for more on this scenario. The protocol may in the future slash for abuse of this local fallback mechanism.

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Eigenlayer restaking option

If you plan to bulk opt-in a large number of validators, check out the Eigenlayer Operator Registration guide.

Otherwise, an individual validator entity can delegate to an existing registered Operator.

A native-restaking enabled validator opting in to mev-commit requires two high level steps:

  1. The validator must delegate (via eigenlayer core) their native stake to an Operator who’s registered with the mev-commit AVS. These can be found on the mev-commit AVS Eigenlayer dashboard. If your existing delegated operator is not registered with mev-commit, you have the option to change your delegation.
  2. The validator must separately be registered with the mev-commit AVS, confirming their attestation to follow the rules of the protocol.

Step 2 will be facilitated by the MevCommitAVS.registerValidatorsByPodOwners function. Frontend instructions are coming soon.

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Eigenlayer LST restaking

For validator entities to opt-in to mev-commit through Eigenlayer, they must follow the above steps involving native restaking. In addition to this, any LST restaker is able to over-collateralize validators who’ve already registered with the MevCommitAVS. Rewards and/or points for this method of over-collateralization are TBD. See more here.

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Symbiotic restaking option

This method of validator opt-in is currently being audited and will be available here shortly. Refer to repo.

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Simple Staking Option

Validators are able to opt-in to mev-commit by staking ETH directly with an L1 contract. This stake is separate from a validator’s 32 ETH already staked with the beacon chain. To avoid the extra capital requirement, see restaking options.

Prerequisites:

  1. An operational Holesky validator node.
  2. An operational mev-boost sidecar or equivalent.
  3. An ethereum account funded with the required stake amount + funds for gas.

0.0001 ETH must be staked with the registry contract on Holesky for each validator pubkey (mainnet will require 1 ETH). Below are a few options for obtaining testnet ETH:

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Staking Your Validator Keys

1

Visit the Validator Dashboard

  • Navigate to mev-commit Validator Dashboard.
  • Press the “Opt-in to mev-commit” button to connect your wallet.
2

Acquire Testnet ETH

  • Ensure that you have at least 0.0001 ETH on Holesky per validator pubkey to stake.
  • If you don’t have sufficient ETH, see options from above.
3

Stake Your Validator Keys

  • Click the Stake(lock icon) button on the top right of the dashboard to initiate staking.
  • You can either upload a .txt file containing your keys separated by commas or line breaks, or you can copy and right-click paste the keys directly into the field provided.
4

Enter Stake Amounts

  • Enter the amount of ETH you wish to stake for each key.
  • Press “Stake” and confirm the transaction on your wallet to finalize the staking of your keys.
5

Manage Your Staked Keys

  • After staking, you can view your staked keys by clicking on “Manage Stake”.
  • To unstake your keys, you can multi-select the keys or use the meatball(3-dots) menu to unstake them.
  • After unstaking, you will need to wait a 96 block of unstaking period before you can withdraw your ETH. The required waiting period will be displayed for each key on the “Withdraw” column.

If you want to stake your keys manually, please visit Stake Validators Keys Manually section.

Testnet FaucetRelays