[RFC] Fast Bridging Support for rETH

I am posting this proposal on behalf of Rocket Pool. While I am not an elected ambassador at this point, I am aware of the genesis of this proposal and the work that has gone in to bringing it to the RFC stage. I am in support of this proposal and invite meaningful discussion below.

This proposal is being posted verbatim and without editing from me.

Summary:

This is proposal for HOP protocol to offer fast bridging support for rETH to/from Optimism, Arbitrum, and Ethereum L1.

The Rocket Pool Incentive Committee will be offering $RPL incentives to rETH/hrETH AMM LPs on Optimism and Arbitrum to facilitate the process. We propose a starting plan of 50 $RPL / 28 day period in incentives per L2 with the intent to scale the amount as we support additional chains based on volume building across ecosystems.

One binding piece of the proposal would be if Hop Protocol were to consider matching Rocket Pool with $HOP co-incentives. We suggest 12k $HOP per 28 day period per L2. The Rocket Pool treasury is very small relative to most DAOs and partnerships are how we are able to compete. These incentives will go towards the $rETH Bonder, run by a prominent member of the Rocket Pool community.

Rationale:

The Rocket Pool protocol produces the $rETH liquid staking token, third-largest by MCAP. The network is composed of over 2,000 node operators spread all throughout the world. This wide blanket of security means the $rETH token is incredibly decentralized and robust. The protocol is entirely permissionless to run validators on and is very aligned with the ethos of Ethereum broadly. The protocol has undergone auditing with all the top firms - Consensys Diligence, Sigma Prime, Trail of Bits, and also has a $250k Immunefi bug bounty. The token follows a cToken model, meaning the rewards passively accrue as the rETH/ETH ratio climbs. This is ideal for layer 2 adoption as the token is very simple relative to rebasing tokens.

The rETH token is already available on Optimism, Arbitrum, Polygon, ZkSync, and Ethereum mainnet. There is an ongoing liquidity program on Optimism that has driven 3.4k rETH to that network. A further 1.5k rETH exists naturally on Arbitrum. These networks all have rETH on them, however, it is a large challenge for the market to keep the token value balanced across all said networks. The native 1-week timelock makes this arbitrage difficult. We anticipate this arbitrage flow to expand as new liquidity programs begin on different chains.

Fast bridging support for rETH on Hop would be a major UX improvement for Rocket Pool users and it would also drive volume + usage for Hop Protocol. There is no other bridge that supports rETH. This would make Hop a major destination for all liquid staking token arbitrage. As the Atlas upgrade rolls out, the $rETH supply is expected to undergo massive growth from collateral reduction from 16 ā†’ 8 ETH and solo staker migration.

Further, as far as our research has shown (Celer, Synapse, HOP), if HOP onboarded rETH, it would be the first cross-chain bridge for any liquid staking token, potentially ushering in a brand new market that is only bound to grow. Early movers often end up taking a lionā€™s share of volume, and so it is in HOPā€™s best interest to move fast to entrench the advantage.

Considering the above, we think it would make sense for Hop protocol to co-incentivize hToken liquidity with Rocket Pool on Optimism and Arbitrum.

Specification:

** Seed bonders on L1 with rETH from the Rocket Pool Community
** Incentivize liquidity for hrETH/rETH with 50 $RPL per 28 day cycle per L2
** Incentivize bonder liquidity with 12k $HOP per 28 day cycle per L2
** Roll out bridging support for rETH on Hop

Notes:

*After discussion with the HOP team, the amount of $RPL that we suggest be matched by $HOP is approximately $25,000/year/chain equivalent at time of writing.

7 Likes

Adding a liquid staking token to HOPā€™s bridging support would be a huge competitive advantage for a protocol that is seeing more and more bridging alternatives appear. $RPL incentives would be lucrative given the nature and use of the token, which has a use-case far greater than most other, if not all other, governance tokens. Co-incentives are a reasonable and proper idea. To me, facilitating rETH bridging would be of great benefit to the HOP ecosystem with no downside.

1 Like

Hello all,

Iā€™m Jasperthefriendlyghost and the principal author of this proposal. I also serve on the Incentive Management Committee for Rocket Pool. Iā€™ve been a fan of HOP for years now and have LPd on several chains. I love when the HOP team members pop up in the Rocket Pool Discord as theyā€™ve been known to do and I still hold my HOP tokens.

I think the fact that HOP can be the first fast bridge to support an LST is huge for all parties. Further, this will be rolling out along side liquidity and ecosystem expansion on these chains to drive natural demand.

Iā€™m especially looking forward to the HOP V2 bonders for permissionless support, however, I hope this proposal can bridge us to that point in time. Happy to answer any questions.

2 Likes

I would vote for this. Good alignment. Specifications seem fair.

100% in favor of this

In favor of this at first glance. I think that an rETH pool would likely require a slightly lower amount of incentives that stablecoin pools or naked ETH pools as the underlying asset is already accruing value. Happy to see LSD activity moving to L2!

1 Like

Strong support on this one from me. The blockchain space has shown time and time again how important first mover advantage is, so I think this presents a huge opportunity for HOP. Everything Iā€™ve read / heard / experienced with RocketPool indicates they are strong proponents of decentralization and align with HOPā€™s values as a protocol, so supporting their project is a no-brainer to me.

RocketPool I know is going to have 8 ETH Minipools soon, so Iā€™d imagine that combined with Shapella is going to see some reshuffling of staked ETH. This means the need for an easier bridging solution is more important now than it ever was. The success of this may also get us interest from other staking protocols.

1 Like

Strongly support this, Rocket Pool and Hop are very value-aligned

One question for @dybsy or anyone else in the Rocket Pool community:

When rETH is deployed on newer chains (such as ZKSync Era or Polygon zkEVM, or future L2s), do you think the team would consider making the L2 token a natively bridged asset, similar to the Hop tokens on other L2s?

This would allow bridging with zero slippage, but would also create a tight dependency on Hop protocol.

2 Likes

Hi, Iā€™m Val (Incentives Management Committee Treasurer and all-around spender of too much time on RP).

Could you point me to any documentation on what that would mean technically? I should note the rETH token is immutable and my initial bias is to avoid external dependencies, but could really use some more understanding to have an educated opinion.

Yeah, in theory, HOP LST pools will be incredibly potent as rETH/hrETH should retain 100% staking yield, transfer fees, and LM.

Better than DEX LPs where you usually have to have 50% exposure to a non-yield bearing asset.

1 Like

Strongly in favor of this. Well worth the 12k/mo in HOP incentives

Just for reference, the Arbitrum liquidity program has started and the bribes will take effect in a few days attracting a large amount of liquidity there.

Righto. Snapshot vote for this proposal is now live: Snapshot

Voted for. Rocket Pool places a high priority on decentralization and Iā€™m excited to see Hop grow together with their community, particularly with @dybsy as a strong ambassador and bridge between the two.

1 Like

Voted for. Good alignment. Specifications seem fair.

I am voting for this proposal. I very much want to see rETH bridging via HOP. Also cool to see @jasper-rocketpool here :slight_smile:

2 Likes

I too am a huge fan of this proposal. Great to see the RocketPoolā€™s focus on building out L2 liquidity!

1 Like

I appreciate all the kind words and support on this thread! Really strong community ethos.

1 Like

I voted yes on this proposal. rETH is a great asset to add to the already available ones in Hopā€™s offerings, no brainer.