Figment’s average SRR throughout Q4 2023 was 4.2%. When Figment Validators were selected to propose blocks, they outperformed the median EL rewards by ~4%. 

There are two different types of ETH rewards. 

Consensus layer (CL) rewards consist of new issuance from attestations, block proposals, and sync committee participation. Including evidence of slashable events in a block is also a source of CL rewards. Even though on a per block basis the rewards for proposing are much higher, over the long term, the vast majority of CL rewards come from attestations.

Execution layer (EL) rewards are received by validators only when they are proposing blocks, which is a random and infrequent event. EL rewards include MEV rewards and tips (i.e., priority fees).

The CL rewards account for the majority of the rewards in the second quarter of 2023 at ~68% compared to ~32% for EL rewards.

Unstaking on Ethereum requires permanently exiting your validator from the active set. The total amount of time it takes to unstake on Ethereum varies and is a function of the number of currently active validators and how many are requesting to exit. After requesting to exit, a validator first enters the exit queue (of which 13 validators are currently dequeued per epoch) and is still subject to rewards and penalties while in this queue. 

Once the validator has left the exit queue, the validator no longer earns rewards and waits an additional 256 epochs (27.3 hours) until it becomes eligible for the withdrawal sweep. Ethereum processes 16 withdrawals per block in order of validator index. Currently, this process can take several days. Take a look at our unstaking time estimator to learn more about the process in depth here.

Post Shanghai & Capella upgrades, partial withdrawals allow stakers to access a portion of their CL rewards, i.e., any amount above 32 ETH is automatically withdrawn and sent to the validator’s withdrawal address – i.e., ‘partial withdrawal.

Execution layer rewards are deposited almost immediately as they occur on the execution layer while Consensus layer rewards are made liquid periodically (currently every ~8 days per validator) by Ethereum. View the detailed composition of your rewards within your Figment account.

Figment mitigates ETH staking risks such as slashing by applying our “safety over liveness” approach, which prioritizes security. We execute a four layer strategy to slashing risk mitigation in our Ethereum infrastructure. These four considerations are: 

• Automated, deterministic key distribution across validator clients upon generation to ensure only one validator key is deployed to one validator client.
• Local anti-slashing database per validator client (VC) that records every block and attestation signed by validators. The VC uses this information to avoid attesting or proposing two different attestations or blocks for the same slot.
• The Remote Signer acts as a universal slashing database across all validator clients to detect multiple signatures for the same block height to prevent a double-signing event.
• Private keys stored separately from signing infrastructure in zero-trust secured vault.

To learn more, read What does Safety Over Liveness Really Mean?

Figment supports multiple MEV relays including Flashbots and BloXroute Regulated. Multi-relay support helps maximize Execution Layer rewards.

Currently, we are distributing our validators in Canada and Ireland. We plan to add more regions in the near future. Figment’s multi-region support allows ETH stakers to distribute their validators across different geographic regions. 

There are several benefits for stakers to take advantage of this feature. These include reducing the impacts of unlikely events, such as unexpected outages. It also allows for the strategic positioning of validators to leverage regional regulatory frameworks. Additionally, it offers robust disaster recovery and business continuity for our clients, especially if servers in one region shut down abruptly and/or permanently.