Proposal Summary

This proposal introduces a comprehensive update to the Incentivized Mainnet Program (hereinafter: “IMP”), including a new tiered reward structure, revised eligibility conditions, and adjustments to the distribution mechanics used to calculate and allocate rewards.

In addition to these program-wide changes, this proposal outlines how the IMP will transition from a per-validator structure to a validator effective balance-based structure to ensure compatibility with Ethereum’s upcoming Pectra hard fork.

The original IMP proposal and terms will remain valid for aspects not amended by this proposal.

Motivation

The motivation for this proposal is twofold:

1. To support the continued growth of the SSV Network in validator count and ETH staked. As the network nears the upper bounds of the currently defined program tiers, new tiers are required to continue incentivizing our projected growth and participation at scale.

2. To ensure compatibility with Ethereum’s Pectra hard-fork, which increases the maximum validator effective balance - enabling stakers to run validators with up to 2048 ETH balance and consolidate existing validators. To reflect this change, the program must transition from a validator-based to an effective balance-based structure, which impacts how tiers are assigned and rewards are calculated.

Proposal Particulars

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Previous Proposals

The Incentivized Mainnet Program was passed by the ssv.network DAO on November 6th, 2023 with the proposal Incentivized Mainnet Program.

Certain provisions of this proposal were amended on the 18th of June 2024 with [DIP-18] Incentivized Mainnet Program - Revision (hereinafter referred to as: “DIP-18”). These amendments include:

1. duration of the IMP has been extended;
2. the reward tiers were expanded to include a higher total number of validators and the respective APR boost for the new validators
3. the inclusion of SAFE multisig wallets into eligible participants of the IMP.
4. the distribution time of the rewards of the IMP to the 15th of the following month for the previous month at the latest.

Certain provisions of the IMP proposal were added on the 15th of September, 2024 with [DIP-22]: Incentivized Mainnet Exception for Lido SimpleDVT Participants (hereinafter referred to as: “DIP-22”). These additions include:

1. a new distribution contract to help with the distribution of the IMP rewards to SimpleDVT participants.
2. a set of calculations to correctly track user participation and eligibility.
3. a set of calculations for the payment of IMP rewards to SimpleDVT participants.
4. a dedicated page for the claiming IMP rewards.
5. Tying the effectiveness of the SimpleDVT program to the duration of either the end of the IMP or the Lido SimpleDVT program.

Certain provisions of the IMP proposal were added and amended on the 26th of December, 2024 with [DIP-27] Incentivized Mainnet Program - Revision #2 (hereinafter referred to as: “DIP 27”). These additions and amendments include:

1. new way of calculating rounds for reward distribution.
2. extending the IMP program until December 31st 2025.
3. a new 1 million SSV allocated.

Certain provisions of the IMP proposal were added on the 31st of March 2025, with [DIP-30] Incentivized Mainnet Exception for Lido CSM/SDVT Participants and Updated Terms for IMP. These additions and amendments include:

1. a distribution of IMP rewards to CSM participants.
2. funding of additional runway for SDVT clusters
3. the introduction of ToS to the IMP
4. sanction screening

Proposed Revisions

Effectiveness of Proposed Revisions

Due to the time sensitive nature of all Proposed Revisions it is important to split from which distribution will certain Proposed Revisions become effective. This schedule can be found below.

1. Refactored Reward Tiers - April Distribution
2. Other Proposed Revisions - May Distribution

Pectra related provisions will become effective in the round, following the round in which Pectra is deployed and functioning on the Ethereum Mainnet.

Mechanics

Refactored Reward Tiers

The program tiers and corresponding APR boosts as set out in DIP-27, will be restructured according to a new tiered rewards system:

Tier (Validators)	APR Boost
45001 - 100000	10%
---	---
100001 - 125000	7.5%
---	---
125001 - 150000	6%
---	---
150001 - 175000	5%
---	---
175001 - 200000	3.5%
---	---

Eligibility Updates

Validator Performance Threshold

The validator performance threshold (previously set at 90%) will be updated to 95% of daily Beacon Chain attestations in a given reward round.

Reward Address Attribution

Validator rewards will now be attributed exclusively to the address that registered the validator (the “Reward Address”), regardless of whether it is an EOA or smart contract. This change simplifies the mechanism and replaces the previous logic introduced in:

• Incentivized Mainnet Program Proposal
• Incentivized Mainnet Program - Revision Proposal

Exceptions:

1. Validators participating in Lido’s SimpleDVT or CSM modules will continue to have rewards allocated to the distributor contracts as defined in DIP-22 and DIP-30 proposals.

2. Smart contracts that registered validators before this proposal will continue to have rewards attributed to their deployer address, as listed in the Appendix.

All new smart contracts registering validators from this point forward will receive rewards directly to the contract address and are expected to implement their own mechanisms to manage them.

Reward Calculation

The ETH and SSV price averages, which are used to calculate the APR boost for each tier in a given reward cycle, will now be based on the current cycle’s data, in contrast to the prior month’s averages, which were used until now.

Pectra Compatibility Updates

Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade will enable validators to increase their maximum effective balance from 32 ETH up to 2048 ETH. This unlocks the ability to consolidate multiple existing validators into a single validator with higher effective balance, significantly improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness for operators.

To support this shift, the IMP will move from a per-validator model to an effective balance-based model for calculating rewards and tier placement.

Refactored Reward Tiers

The program tiers and corresponding APR boosts will be restructured according to a new effective balance-based tiered rewards system:

Tier (Effective Balance)	APR Boost
1,440,032 - 3,200,000 ETH	10%
---	---
3,200,032 - 4,000,000 ETH	7.5%
---	---
4,000,032 - 4,800,000 ETH	6%
---	---
4,800,032 - 5,600,000 ETH	5%
---	---
5,600,032 - 6,400,000 ETH	3.5%
---	---

Reward Calculation

Network Fee Adjustment Under Pectra

Because the SSV Network contracts will continue to charge protocol fees per validator, and not by effective balance, a mechanism is required to collect proportional network fees from larger validators.

As such:

• The IMP will deduct the uncollected network fee portion (beyond the 32 ETH base) directly from the validator’s IMP reward.
• This deduction will only apply to validators with an effective balance exceeding 32 ETH.
• For validators with 32 ETH, network fees remain fully collected via protocol contracts and no deduction will occur.
• If a participant's calculated IMP reward is less than their network fee obligation, they will not receive any reward. Instead, the amount they did accrue will be fully attributed to cover their network fees. In this case, the unpaid portion of their fees will be effectively absorbed by the network and not counted toward the total expected network fees.

This ensures cost alignment across all validators with varying effective balance without requiring immediate changes to protocol-level smart contracts logic.

Calculation Formula

Validator’s effective balance is measured at the last epoch of each day.