{"signature": "0xbc123052e1fb2bfefc24210fc8235a529f0ad99e831d5a8ba3e4b67921406694770db64b4925338b0caf5de7fd332b90d9841ca1a9470db44c5ca65cdb7ca3ce1b", "application": {"round": "0x145052e87140b7309f6ee18ba12fc187560d5d89", "answers": [{"type": "email", "answer": "thame@stakersunion.com", "hidden": true, "question": "Email Address", "questionId": 0}, {"type": "short-answer", "answer": "stakersunion", "hidden": true, "question": "Telegram Handle We Can Use To Contact You", "questionId": 1}, {"type": "short-answer", "answer": "https://github.com/stakersunion", "hidden": false, "question": "Project Github Repo", "questionId": 2}, {"type": "link", "answer": "https://discord.com/invite/vAGDagR7JT", "hidden": false, "question": "Link to your Public Group Chat", "questionId": 3}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "No", "hidden": false, "question": "Have you participated in a previous Gitcoin Grants Round? If so, please name the rounds or link the builder profile to prior rounds.", "questionId": 4}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "The [Stakers Union](https://www.stakersunion.com/) is a collective of solo-stakers running Ethereum validators - mostly from home. We are passionate about the security and decentralization of the network and are arguably among the most important contributors to maintaining Ethereum's infrastructure and credible neutrality.\n\n* **Membership:** We have over 130 members who have completed our robust, multi-step verification process.\n* **Staker Community:** We have built a vibrant community of like-minded, Ethereum-aligned individuals looking to continue to promote validator diversity.\n* **Ecosystem Participation:** Union members actively vote in governance, contribute to protocol discussions, and test infrastructure improvements and coordinate a unified voice for the expression of solo-staker interests.", "hidden": false, "question": "How does your project contribute significantly to the Ethereum network's infrastructure? Please provide specific examples and metrics if available.", "questionId": 5}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "The Stakers Union, in addition to being a conceptually novel organization of solo-stakers, has developed a [unique process](https://docs.stakersunion.com/membership/verification) for member verification - ensuring that only independent operators are eligible for membership. Our dedication to building this collective of solo-stakers has resulted in encouraging partnerships with key ecosystem participants including [Obol](https://obol.org/) (which began by having Stakers Union members operating testnet distributed validators). In addition, our verification process was deemed sufficiently reliable by [StakeCat](https://www.stakecat.space/solo-stakers), a central organization in the independent operator space (responsible for distribution of solo-staker lists) to allow Stakers Union verified members to be included in future lists if not already captured by their existing heuristics.\n\nOur novel verification process includes three key elements:\n- **Proof of Eligibility:** Prospective members sign an oath from an eligible address (an address listed on StakeCat’s list of solo-stakers) or can submit an appeal for eligibility which is proposed to verified members.\n- **Proof of Independent Operation:** Prospective members demonstrate validator ownership by temporarily disabling attestations during an assigned window - proving validator access and independent operation.\n- **Proof of Residential Operation:** Members can optionally demonstrate home operation by submitting a timestamped photo of their node (with metadata stripped to preserve privacy).\n\nThis approach offers private identity with public legitimacy, allowing members to remain pseudonymous while proving their validator participation.\n", "hidden": false, "question": "Describe any pioneering development work in your project, particularly in enhancing privacy, interoperability, or user experience.", "questionId": 6}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "The Stakers Union is directly aimed at addressing the growing centralization of Ethereum’s validator set, driven by large staking-as-a-service providers. While these solutions offer partial decentralization, they still rely on pooled infrastructure and can lead to validator clustering. The ease-of-use of these solutions as well as other benefits including the availability of high-utility liquid staking tokens reduces the incentives for independent operation. While Stakers Union members have pledged their commitment to the Ethereum network - it is plausible that new entrants may be deterred from solo-staking when alternative solutions like liquid staking are easier, offer higher-rewards and require less individual effort.\n\nBy design, the Ethereum network cannot detect higher-utility solo- and home-stakers from centralized operators. As a result and to encourage continued and new solo-stakers, the Stakers Union aims to secure out-of-network incentives to provide augmented, long-term incentives for continued solo-staking, including through public funding processes.", "hidden": false, "question": "What specific problems or challenges in the Ethereum ecosystem does your project address? How does your solution improve upon existing alternatives?", "questionId": 7}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "The Stakers Union has outlined a Roadmap for 2025 with key objectives including:\n* Promote additional membership applications, incorporate and use analytics to identify successful marketing methods\n* Schedule regular community calls (monthly) for progress updates and member feedback\n* Complete Gitcoin Passport integration to reduce membership Sybil risk\n* Apply to a minimum of 3 public goods funding rounds, gathering feedback on submitted proposals\n* Expand existing partnerships to identify opportunities for additional rewards for verified members (ex. Obol Collective proposed partnership with Ether.fi  Operation Solo Staker)\n* Participate actively in Ethereum ecosystem discussions (ex. Stakers Union representative in All Core Developers calls)\n* Continue to seek applicants for unfilled positions (chairperson, Grants) and reappoint or seek new applicants for filled positions\n\nRead more: https://docs.stakersunion.com/roadmap\n\nThe Stakers Union has and will continue to be developed by dedicated solo-stakers who have agreed to contribute their time and effort to these worthy goals. As a result, funding contributions are directed evenly to verified members through a Splits contract - incentivizing the diversity and longevity of Ethereum solo-staking.\n", "hidden": false, "question": "Outline your project's roadmap and how the grant funds will be used to achieve your development goals.", "questionId": 8}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "The Stakers Union directly incentivizes the growth and retention of solo-stakers, which are arguably the most crucial contributors to a truly decentralized, secure and censorship-resistant Ethereum. By verifying, supporting, and organizing solo-stakers, we: \n\n- Distribute validator power away from centralized entities\n- Encourage client and geographic diversity \n- Ensure more independent actors participate in Ethereum’s consensus layer Improve long-term security by broadening Ethereum’s validator base\n\nNo other project focuses as directly or effectively on organizing and rewarding independent stakers at scale.\n", "hidden": false, "question": "How does your project contribute to the decentralization and security of the Ethereum network?", "questionId": 9}, {"type": "paragraph", "answer": "0xb1c125e5cD5f4f7B473cb59C999f82B2583C4459, 1\n0xb1c125e5cD5f4f7B473cb59C999f82B2583C4459, 10\n0xb1c125e5cD5f4f7B473cb59C999f82B2583C4459, 100", "hidden": false, "question": "For any project deploying smart contracts on blockchain networks, please list all your deployer addresses and their corresponding blockchain networks. Use this format for each entry: [deployer_address], [chain_id]—for example, 0x123abc..., 42161 (This represents a deployer address on the Arbitrum network). Please include a separate line for each unique deployer address and blockchain combination.", "questionId": 10}], "project": {"id": "0xbfa9f72968bba383dfbc1ec001c53c2cee437edbdf9a85a31439d715ca7a039d", "title": "Stakers Union", "logoImg": "bafkreihw23ki7av3zunh3jeftdbcfkdowq3frnayo343lmlo7jelvghu6q", "metaPtr": {"pointer": "bafkreici63jb4bpbcefeqylc2qns7ehhxo3qd3ubmf35k42q7e6kb3bdri", "protocol": "undefined"}, "website": "https://stakersunion.com/", "bannerImg": "bafkreiha7uytqfzpp4sifguspyfd7x22mlv25p3z437v2dhj5gj7gnsjwi", "createdAt": 1742316536270, "userGithub": "stakersunion", "credentials": {"github": {"type": ["VerifiableCredential"], "proof": {"type": "EthereumEip712Signature2021", "created": "2025-03-23T17:35:21.190Z", "@context": "https://w3id.org/security/suites/eip712sig-2021/v1", "proofValue": "0xc5ccd44d97a5eefc2871a0d72d70918c0b8815c2bc564c6657a9beaa7ecaa9cc1f36865f9ea3071372e31c3b63ee26e34f9ab044cfe7d337ad72695789bf340b1b", "eip712Domain": {"types": {"Proof": [{"name": 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"0x19b54539639bab6cc8f5dde8558c08f1d63e9abed0916daabff531af67fb91381d9e989cb1b076e14b86154da4e783a2148956617cfc73b26403c5ba1e4055de1c", "eip712Domain": {"types": {"Proof": [{"name": "@context", "type": "string"}, {"name": "created", "type": "string"}, {"name": "proofPurpose", "type": "string"}, {"name": "type", "type": "string"}, {"name": "verificationMethod", "type": "string"}], "@context": [{"name": "nullifiers", "type": "NullifiersContext"}, {"name": "provider", "type": "string"}], "Document": [{"name": "@context", "type": "string[]"}, {"name": "credentialSubject", "type": "CredentialSubject"}, {"name": "expirationDate", "type": "string"}, {"name": "issuanceDate", "type": "string"}, {"name": "issuer", "type": "string"}, {"name": "proof", "type": "Proof"}, {"name": "type", "type": "string[]"}], "EIP712Domain": [{"name": "name", "type": "string"}], "CredentialSubject": [{"name": "@context", "type": "@context"}, {"name": "nullifiers", "type": "string[]"}, {"name": "id", "type": "string"}, {"name": "provider", "type": "string"}], "NullifiersContext": [{"name": "@container", "type": "string"}, {"name": "@type", "type": "string"}]}, "domain": {"name": "VerifiableCredential"}, "primaryType": "Document"}, "proofPurpose": "assertionMethod", "verificationMethod": "did:ethr:0xd6f8d6ca86aa01e551a311d670a0d1bd8577e5fb#controller"}, "issuer": "did:ethr:0xd6f8d6ca86aa01e551a311d670a0d1bd8577e5fb", "@context": ["https://www.w3.org/2018/credentials/v1", "https://w3id.org/vc/status-list/2021/v1"], "issuanceDate": "2025-03-18T16:48:45.449Z", "expirationDate": "2025-06-16T16:48:45.449Z", "credentialSubject": {"id": "did:pkh:eip155:1:0xb1c125e5cD5f4f7B473cb59C999f82B2583C4459", "@context": {"provider": "https://schema.org/Text", "nullifiers": {"@type": "https://schema.org/Text", "@container": "@list"}}, "provider": "ClearTextTwitter#stakersunion", "nullifiers": ["v0.0.0:3H1YjFGevdnYlQkZ3JqvGzq1OsWPdYU4MXdx+iNIPwM="]}}}, "description": "Stakers Union\nWe are a collective of solo-stakers focused on preserving the health and decentralization of the Ethereum network.\n\nThe Problem\nIncentives for solo-stakers are dwindling. Liquid staking and restaking protocols and their associated liquid tokens drive many away from solo-staking.\n\nThe Solution\nWe are building a collective of avid and passionate solo-stakers to support their activities by securing stable incentives from ecosystem participants.\n\nCurrent Progress\nWe have defined defined a robust, multi-step verification process and have over 130 verified members. Our members and other interested participants are active in our Discord where we explore staking-related topics and advocate for solo-stakers.\n\n", "lastUpdated": 0, "projectGithub": "stakersunion-org", "projectTwitter": "stakersunion"}, "recipient": "0xd4787AC18b141133ECB1c24ec1f91B5D6c311355"}}