Name of Grant
Blockworks Research <> Rocket Pool Saturn Upgrade Coverage
What is the work being proposed?
Blockworks Research will undergo a coverage campaign and release three short-form reports (named Flash Notes) covering the Rocket Pool Saturn Upgrade. These reports will reside in front of our paywall for public consumption. Blockworks Research will leverage its distribution channels (Twitter, LinkedIn, Newsletters, etc) to bring awareness to Rocketpool’s Saturn Upgrade.
Is there any related work this builds off of?
While there’s no directly related work, Blockworks Research has covered Rocketpool extensively in other pieces, and has distributed these across its subscriber base and public media. To date, we’ve had 3 pieces related to Rocketpool released:
- Ethereum Liquid Staking: Cash Flow in Crypto
- Rocketpool’s Atlas Upgrade
- ETH Liquid Staking Derivatives Primer
We have also covered Lido in two different reports. Please see an example long-form report on Lido’s stETH below.
stETH: Ethereum’s Preeminent Institutional Grade Product
Finally, please see below for an example of Blockworks Research Flash Note.
Will the results of this project be 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?
This project does not fall under the definition of open source because it is not a technical demand. This project will be for public use and unlocked (in front of Blockworks Research paywall) for visibility.
Benefit
<please enter N/A where appropriate>
| Group | Benefits |
|—|—|
| Potential rETH holders | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people looking to stake ETH for rETH? |
This helps users understand the implications of the coming Saturn upgrade while also providing marketing to make staking with Rocketpool an attractive opportunity.
| rETH holders | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help rETH holders? |
This helps users understand the implications of the coming Saturn upgrade while also providing marketing to make staking with Rocketpool an attractive opportunity.
| Potential NOs | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people looking to run a Rocket Pool node for the first time? |
These reports will aid Rocket Pool’s acquisition of new node operators. The reports will highlight the capabilities behind the RPL token alongside the node operator pipeline to ensure that all parties in the Rocket Pool protocol are represented accurately.
| NOs | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help people already running a Rocket Pool node? |
Successful completion of the grant will help existing node operators by providing insights into how the Saturn upgrade will affect node operations, and possible opportunities beyond. This includes possible optimizations and challenges for the node operators in the long term. The report will also highlight the responsibilities and roles of the Rocket Pool ecosystem.
| Community | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help the Rocket Pool community? |
This grant will help provide visibility to the Rocketpool DAO as the the RPL token is intrinsically tied to the health of the DAO.
| RPL holders | If the grant is successfully completed, how does this help RPL holders? |
The grant will aid in public understanding of Rocketpool and will help the protocol remain an attractive option in the highly competitive landscape of Ethereum liquid staking.
Which other non-RPL protocols, DAOs, projects, or individuals, would stand to benefit from this grant?
N/A
Work
Who is doing the work?
Blockworks Research is a team of expert analysts that delivers institutional-grade, data-driven research and analysis. Our coverage is widespread and includes L1s and L2s, DeFi, MEV, DePIN, infrastructure, and more. For this project, we will task our analysts to complete these reports for the benefit of Rocketpool.
What is the background of the person(s) doing the work? What experience do they have with such projects in the past?
Blockworks Research has released around 240 reports covering all ecosystems, including Ethereum, Cosmos, Optimism, Arbitrum, Solana, Sui, Aptos, and many others. We also do application specific coverage, as seen with the linked Lido report.
What is the breakdown of the proposed work, in terms of milestones and/or deadlines?
The proposed milestones are the completion of each of the three reports, scheduled according to the Blockworks Research timeline. We propose the following timeline.
Flash Note #1: October or November Publication date, with the goal of inspiring new Node Operators
Flash Note #2: December or January Publication date, with the goal of driving demand for rETH.
Flash Note #3: February or March Publication date, doing a fundamental analysis of the RPL token valuation.
How is the work being tested? Is testing included in the schedule?
N/A
How will the work be maintained after delivery?
All sponsored work remains free for the public to read. Public reports also gain the marketing of the Blockworks platform, where we will upload threads on Twitter and posts on LinkedIn for said report.
Costs
What is the acceptance criteria?
Payment for this grant opportunity would be upfront prior to publishing. The policy for Blockworks Research traditionally has been to accept payment per contractual agreement prior to pursuing sponsored research. The acceptance criteria for grant completion is the publishing and marketing for all sponsored reports.
What is the proposed payment schedule for the grant? How much USD $ and over what period of time is the applicant requesting?
A one-time $45,000 upfront payment.
Is the applicant requesting RPL or LUSD?
We would like to request the $45,000 denominated in RPL.
How will the GMC verify that the work delivered matches the proposed cadence?
The GMC will be able to verify delivery through our distribution channels, the Blockworks Research website, Blockworks Research Twitter, and the Blockworks LinkedIn.
What alternatives or options have been considered in order to save costs for the proposed project?
N/A
Conflict of Interest
Does the person or persons proposing the grant have any conflicts of interest to disclose? (Please disclose here if you are a member of the GMC or if any member of the GMC would benefit directly financially from the grant).
No
Will the recipient of the grant, or any protocol or project in which the recipient has a vested interest (other than Rocket Pool), benefit financially if the grant is successful?
No