Retrospective Award Application
Retrospective Award
Who is the proposed retrospective award recipient?
Ken Smith (NextBlock Solutions LLC; address: nextblock.eth)
What specific project or work is the retrospective award in recognition of? Please detail what the project or work entailed and the duration over which it took place.**
I published a research paper entitled ‘Modeling the Profitability of the Rocket Pool Smoothing Pool’ in August 2022. It can be found at GitHub - htimsk/SPanalysis: A statistical anaylysis of the Rocket Pool Smoothing Pool.. The process of drafting and researching the report occurred from July 1, 2022, to July 29, 2023. I also had to write custom python code to adapt the previous Monte Carlo code from the LEB report, which was done during the month of June."
Are the subjects of this award entirely open source (MIT, GPL, Apache, CC BY license or similar)? If not, which parts will not be, why, and under what license will they be published?
Yes, I have added a copyright notice to the report on my public GitHub indicating that it is released under the CC BY license. This allows others to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format as long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use.
Benefits - enter N/A where appropriate
How did the project or work for which the retrospective award would be given help people looking to stake ETH for rETH?
This report helped to solidify the mathematical reasoning behind the smoothing pool and helped NOs understand the trade-offs of participating or not participating in the SP. The offering of a SP for MEV returns is a unique feature of Rocket Pool and likely factored into the decision of a least a few new NOs to join RP versus staking as solo operators.
How did the project or work for which the retrospective award would be given help rETH holders?
While the rewards earned by rETH holders are the same regardless of whether a NO is participating in the SP, the creation of the SP increased the attractiveness of Rocket Pool as a staking protocol for NOs to join. This allowed RP to grow its staking service and provide “lift capacity” for rETH staking. Currently, RP’s NO capacity is limited, and it cannot generate more rETH without incurring a premium for new purchasers. To the extent that this report attracted new NOs to RP, it reduced the premium penalty for new rETH purchasers.
How did the project or work for which the retrospective award would be given help people looking to run a Rocket Pool node for the first time?
his report clearly explained the more probable advantages for a NO to opt-in to the SP versus remaining in a solitary configuration
How did the project or work for which the retrospective award would be given help people already running a Rocket Pool node?
At the release of Redstone, all existing NOs were given the choice of opting into the SP. This report helped to quantify the rights and rewards associated with this decision and clarify the most likely outcome. This report played an important role in their decision-making process.
How did the project or work for which the retrospective award would be given how does this help the Rocket Pool community?
Due to the clarity of the expected returns at the launch of the SP, its participation rate was highly successful. This generated a lot of excitement and interest in RP, and the SP remains a unique attribute compared to other decentralized staking services. This report helped to explain the statistics and model the likely future performance of the SP.
How did the project or work for which the retrospective award would be given how does this help RPL holders?
Providing pDAO GMC funding for research projects is crucial for ensuring that RP continues to innovate and develop protocol features that align with and strengthen its core mission of providing a fully decentralized, permissionless, trustless, and open-source staking solution for the Ethereum network.
Payment
How much RPL is the applicant requesting be awarded to the recipient?
I’m requesting an award of 500 RPL distributed over three periods. This number was based on discounted consultancy rates and the level of effort expended. I understand that this remuneration may be altered by the GMC depending on several factors.
Conflict of Interest
I received a travel grant from the Node Operator Association (NOA) to present a paper about this report at Devcon6. The grant only reimbursed me for travel and lodging expenses, and no income was received. I have been approached by another staking protocol about performing risk assessments and have been invited as an initial node operator.
Does the person or persons requesting the retrospective award have any conflicts of interest to disclose? (Please disclose here if you are a member of the GMC or if you have nominated a member of the GMC for this retrospective award).
Yes. I serve on the GMC.