Should the Lido DAO add the 7 shortlisted Ethereum operators to the Lido on Ethereum operator set?

Summary

This proposal is to onboard new node operators to the Lido on Ethereum Node Operator Set.

Proposal

The goal of onboarding new node operators is to enhance the decentralization and resilience of the Lido protocol, as well as to bring on new organizations with strong skill sets and alignment with Lido’s values.

The Wave 5 onboarding round took place over two stages. Stage 1 to evaluate return-applicant Node Operators that had previously applied, and Stage 2 for any non-shortlisted candidates that applied during the overall Wave 5 onboarding round.

During Stage 1, the Lido DAO voted via a Snapshot and on-chain Aragon vote to onboard 2 Node Operators (Launchnodes Limited and SenseiNode Inc).

At the Stage 2 application deadline, a total of 117 applications were received, and 111 were eligible for evaluation when taking into account duplicate applications and the 2 Node Operators onboarded during Stage 1.

The 7 shortlisted candidates proposed by the Lido Node Operator Subgovernance Group (LNOSG) were deemed to appropriately reflect the onboarding goals outlined in the Lido Operator Set Strategy and the “Factors to Consider'' section of the onboarding announcement.

Following a final evaluation meeting September 5th 2023, the LNOSG recommended the following applicants for inclusion into the node operator set for the Ethereum protocol (in alphabetical order):

a4x Inc. - joining the Lido on Ethereum Operator set as “A41” Develp GmbH (on behalf of the Nimbus client team) - joining the Lido on Ethereum Operator set as “Develp GmbH” Ebunker Technology LIMITED - joining the Lido on Ethereum Operator set as “Ebunker” Gateway.fm AS - joining the Lido on Ethereum Operator set as “Gateway.fm AS” Numic (a brand of QUTY Group Pty Ltd, ACN 634265204) - joining the Lido on Ethereum Operator set as “Numic” ParaFi Technologies LLC - joining the Lido on Ethereum Operator set as “ParaFi Technologies LLC” Rockaway Blockchain GP Ltd - joining the Lido on Ethereum Operator set as “RockawayX Infra”

Next steps

This vote will run for seven days from Mon, 11 Sep to Mon, 18 Sep, and seeks LDO holder approval of the onboarding of the above-mentioned node operators for the respective protocol, provided the operators confirm their desire to join.

In case the Snapshot concludes in favor of onboarding, an on-chain Aragon vote will follow on October 3rd, 2023 to add the 7 node operators to the Curated Operator Set.

For more information, please see the relevant Onboarding for Ethereum (Wave 5) announcement and evaluation results posted on the Lido Research forum.