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Blockdaemon delivered a 2.82% PRR against a 2.65% CESR benchmark in October, outperforming the network average by 17 bps.
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Performance Report
Validator Performance & Ecosystem Update
Blockdaemon is a leading staking provider for institutions, offering secure, risk-mitigated rewards across more than 50 blockchain networks. Blockdaemon secures over $10 billion in staked assets and delivers 99.9% uptime. This report analyzes current Ethereum ecosystem trends and compares Blockdaemon's validator fleet performance with the network average.
October 2026
Blockdaemon delivered a 2.82% PRR against a 2.65% CESR benchmark in October, outperforming the network average by 17 bps, its widest margin since June.
October Protocol Reward Rate (PRR)
PRR (Protocol Reward Rate) estimates protocol rewards based on historical ETH staking data and does not guarantee future results. Blockdaemon uses the Rated.network API for all competitive benchmarking so comparisons are measured on a consistent third-party basis. Internal validator performance data is used for Blockdaemon reporting. Trend includes prior 2026 months for context.
October 2026
Glamsterdam, Ethereum’s next upgrade, was set to go live on Hoodi, the testnet built for stakers, on October 26. Four days before, developers postponed it. Security firm ChainSecurity found that new gas rules in the upgrade could change how some existing smart contracts handle failed calls. It found 13 real-world cases and is working privately with the affected teams. Sepolia, which upgraded on October 6, is not affected. No new Hoodi or mainnet date is set.
What this means for institutions: nothing changes for staked ETH, and no action is needed. Developers had aimed for mainnet by the end of 2026, and that timing now depends on a new Hoodi date. Blockdaemon manages all client updates on behalf of customers whenever the upgrade ships.
Original Hoodi schedule: blog.ethereum.org
In the first week of October, Ethereum’s active validator count fell 2.5% to about 863,000, while the amount of ETH staked edged up. The reason is consolidation. Since the Pectra upgrade, a single validator can hold up to 2,048 ETH instead of 32, so operators are merging many small validators into fewer large ones without unstaking. Validators that switch to the newer “0x02” setting also compound their rewards automatically.
What this means for institutions: consolidation means fewer validators to run and track, and rewards that compound without extra steps. Larger validators also put more ETH behind each signing key, so strong key management matters even more. Blockdaemon supports both standard 0x01 and auto-compounding 0x02 validators.
Source: The Defiant, citing Beaconcha.in validator data
About 44.1 million ETH was staked on October 19, around 36% of supply and 8 million more than a year earlier. Much of that growth has come from institutions, including treasury companies and staking ETFs. The line to start staking has also eased. In February it peaked at 4.1 million ETH, a wait of about 71 days. By October 19 it was down to 1.2 million ETH, or about 21 days.
What this means for institutions: new stake now becomes active in about three weeks instead of two months, which makes planning easier. More ETH staked also spreads rewards more thinly, so steady validator performance matters more for returns.
Data: validatorqueue.com
Operational Excellence
OFAC Compliance Overview:
Relays act as a trusted layer between block builders and validators, ensuring fair payload routing, block validity, and data availability. They aggregate bids from multiple builders and submit the most profitable payloads to validators, enabling efficient MEV capture while mitigating manipulation risks.
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