Understanding the Rewards Structure of Non-Custodial ETH Staking Services

imToken’s non-custodial ETH staking service creates independent validators for users. These validators participate in the construction and maintenance of the Ethereum network, ensuring its integrity while earning rewards directly from the protocol.

Validator income is categorized into two types based on their source and distribution: 1) Staking Rewards and 2) Block Rewards.

What are Staking Rewards?

Staking rewards are earnings accrued by validators on the Consensus Layer.

• Mechanism: Validators are responsible for checking block validity and proposing new blocks. By performing these duties correctly, they earn protocol-level rewards generated by the network.

• Yield Dynamics: The reward amount depends on the total network staking ratio. Generally, a higher total amount of ETH staked network-wide leads to a lower Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for individual validators, and vice versa.

• Uptime Importance: If a validator goes offline due to network issues, it misses rewards during that downtime. imToken’s professional operations ensure an uptime close to 100%, maintaining consistent reward generation.

• Distribution: Ethereum directs these rewards to the Consensus Layer by default. They are periodically and automatically withdrawn to the validator's configured withdrawal address. This process is handled by the protocol and requires no manual action.

• Risk Mitigation: Long-term downtime or actions against the consensus protocol can result in penalties or "Slashing." imToken minimizes these risks through professional node management.

What are Block Rewards?

Block rewards are additional incentives earned when a validator is selected as a "Proposer" for a specific block.

• Mechanism: Beyond basic staking rewards, a proposer receives Priority Fees (Tips) from all transactions included in that block.

• MEV Enhancement: By connecting to block auction markets (via tools like MEV-Boost), validators can capture additional revenue from the auctioning of block space (Maximal Extractable Value).

• Probability: Block rewards are probabilistic—similar to a lottery. While they can significantly boost income, the selection chance for a single validator is low, often occurring only once every few months.

• Distribution: Block rewards are sent to the Execution Layer by default. The payout address is configured independently by the validator.

• Variations: Please note that the tracking, settlement, and display of block rewards may vary depending on the validator mode (newly created vs. existing).

Summary

Staking rewards and block rewards together constitute a validator's total income. While stable operation guarantees consistent staking rewards, block rewards provide periodic "luck-based" bonuses.