Hey everyone!
Here is a quarterly roadmap update for February, March, April.
Saturn 1
The team have made good progress on the Saturn 1 deliverables as outlined in the timeline post.
Devnet-1
Devnet-1 was released on Holesky on 11 Feb - it included the deposit process features.
Devnet-2
Development is in progress and will be deployed on Hoodi shortly. All contract changes have been completed and most smart node functionality. Once this is ready we will let everyone know. As always with the devnets , the code is still be very much in-development but we invite active participation from testing enthusiasts to test the new features.
Just fair warning, Hoodi is going to be an interesting testing environment. Currently the deposit queue is 12 days long…
Research
After Devnet-1 was released, there was discussion in the #research Discord channel about tweaking the deposit process design. During the Saturn scoping this was a known item that we had to lock down during development. As a result, the deposit process tweaks will be included in Devnet-2 and we will work with the community to update the RPIPs.
Another major topic of discussion in the #research Discord channel was the impact of EIP-7251: Increase the MAX_EFFECTIVE_BALANCE, particularly whether some recently identified changes could simplify the migration from minipools to megapools.
The short version: using EIP-7251 for migration could introduce some undesirable side effects, while offering only limited benefits. The current approach—where node operators exit and then reenter—avoids those downsides and helps keep delivery timelines on track.
If you’re curious about the juicy details, be sure to check out the channel.
Devnet-3
The team have started working on the contract components for devnet-3; focusing on RPL staking and voter share distribution.
Timeline
We’re currently running about three weeks behind schedule. That said, the most complex parts of Saturn 1 are now complete, and the remaining components should be more straightforward to deliver—so I’m hopeful we can make up some time.
Please keep in mind that the timeline has always been an estimate, but we’re committed to sticking as close to it as possible while ensuring we maintain high quality.
Audits
We are starting to reach out to auditors to ensure capacity and filling the bench.
Testnets
We have migrated the official testnet to Hoodi and will be using Hoodi going forward for the devnets - unless it becomes unbearable and we will have to look at other options.
Smart Node v2
We previously mentioned this during a community call, but to confirm officially: we will not be migrating to Smart Node v2. After careful discussion with the team, we’ve decided to selectively migrate key features from v2 into the existing v1 codebase instead.
We feel this approach best manages risk, capacity, and incorporates the elements of v2 that the team love.
This process is already underway, starting with the highly useful Masquerade feature, which also brings enhancements to the wallet interface.
Websites & APIs
Over the past few weeks, the team has been hard at work delivering a range of improvements across user experience, infrastructure, and internal tooling.
Front-End & UI Updates
- Completed an investigation and fix related to rETH APR discrepancies.
- Upgraded all sites to Tailwind CSS v4 for improved consistency and performance.
- Reown’s WalletConnect integration is now the default wallet connection method across all platforms.
- Separated the liquid staking and node staking sites to streamline the user experience.
- Implemented numerous dependency upgrades, performance optimizations, and UI/UX enhancements across all sites and APIs.
- A new Cyfrin Updraft Course banner was added to support developer education.
- A Saturn banner is also in the works—coming soon!
- Improvements have been made to the bundling and deployment process to streamline development workflows.
- Research into using solvers for both L1 and L2 transaction flows.
Testnets & Documentation
- Holesky testnet sites and associated contract addresses have been sunset and replaced with the new Hoodi testnet.
- Setup new Hoodi oDAO nodes
- The docs site has been updated to reflect Hoodi testnet contract addresses accordingly.
Infrastructure & Tooling
- Updated and fully resynced the archive node to Erigon v3.
- Conducted server co-location tests to evaluate speed improvements for RPC performance.
- Monitoring and logging systems have been improved to give the core team better visibility and reliability.
- Rocket Pool github org page: Rocket Pool · GitHub
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.