KoinlyticsEthereum validators earn from three sources. Understanding the breakdown changes how you evaluate stakers, LSTs, and validator hardware bets.
1. Attestation and proposal rewards (baseline)
Every validator earns for attesting to blocks and, occasionally, proposing them. Rewards scale with total ETH staked: fewer stakers = higher per-validator reward, more stakers = lower. Current baseline: ~2.7% APR at ~32M ETH staked.
2. Priority fees (tips)
Users tip to jump ahead in mempool. Tip goes to whichever validator proposes the block containing the transaction. This is variable: quiet weeks near zero, busy weeks meaningful. Adds ~0.3-1% APR blended over a year.
3. MEV (from MEV-Boost)
Validator's cut of the winning block builder bid. Averages 0.05-0.3 ETH per block proposed. Adds ~0.5-1% APR for MEV-Boost participants.
Combined
- Solo staker, no MEV-Boost: ~3% APR.
- Solo staker with MEV-Boost: ~3.5-4% APR.
- Lido stETH (MEV-Boost enabled): ~3.2-3.7% after 10% fee.
- Rocket Pool rETH: ~3.5-4% after commission.
- Jito on Solana (for comparison): ~7-8% because Solana MEV auction is more integrated.
What moves each
- Baseline: total ETH staked. Rises = APR falls.
- Tips: network activity. Bull cycles = higher.
- MEV: DeFi arb + liquidation volume. Volatile.
What LST comparisons should show
Any honest LST APR should break down the three sources. When they only quote a single number, ask whether MEV is being captured for the LST or leaking to node operators.