Glossary
Staking Pool
16/04/2026
Staking pool is a service that lets multiple users combine their tokens to meet the capital or technical requirements of running a validator on a Proof-of-Stake blockchain. Rewards are distributed to participants in proportion to their stake, minus a fee to the pool operator. The concept is directly analogous to mining pools in Proof-of-Work.
Why pool staking
Running a solo validator often has high barriers:
- Capital requirement — Ethereum requires 32 ETH to run a validator (~$100K+ depending on price)
- Technical setup — node operation, keys management, uptime monitoring
- Slashing risk — misbehavior or extended downtime can slash staked funds
A staking pool removes these barriers. Users with any amount of tokens can earn rewards without running infrastructure.
Liquid staking
Most modern staking pools issue a liquid staking token representing the user's stake plus accrued rewards. This token can be traded or used in DeFi while the underlying stake keeps earning.
- Lido (stETH) — largest Ethereum liquid staking provider
- Rocket Pool (rETH) — more decentralized alternative with a lower node operator barrier (8 ETH + RPL collateral)
Trade-offs
- Centralization risk — if one pool holds too much stake, it threatens network decentralization. Ethereum's community is actively concerned about Lido's share.
- Operator fees — typically 5–10% of rewards
- Smart contract risk — liquid staking relies on a contract that could be exploited
- Depeg risk — liquid staking tokens can trade below the underlying asset during stress
