Press Release
Covalent Increases Network Decentralization by 23% with Addition of Five New Network Operators, Enhancing Long-Term Data Security
Covalent's strategic expansion includes five new global operators to enhance network decentralization and bolster data security capabilities.
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As part of its initiative to broaden its operator base to further decentralize the network infrastructure, Covalent is welcoming five new Block Specimen Producers (BSPs) to the Covalent Network. Not only does this move reaffirm Covalent’s dedication to community-driven protocols, but it also propels the protocol towards a more inclusive and decentralized ecosystem, crucial for supporting long-term data availability. With these new additions, the Covalent Network now comprises a total of 26 operators, including both BSPs and Block Results Producers (BRPs), totaling 18 BSPs and 8 BRPs.
Staking Migration to Ethereum
Following Covalent’s major transition to staking on Ethereum recently in April 2024, operators and delegates now have the opportunity to stake directly on the Ethereum platform. This simplifies the process of earning emission yields and is a crucial step in supporting the upcoming launch of the Ethereum Wayback Machine (EWM) later this year. The EWM represents a long-term data availability solution, offering efficient, verified, and structured historical on-chain data to serve a variety of use cases.
“As the industry grows, the amount of blockchain data is only going to increase. Infrastructure like Covalent that makes it easier to work with blockchains is going to accelerate the industry as a whole. Decentralized infrastructure will also lead to more performant and cost effective outcomes.” – Addison Spiegel, CEO/Founder, Thunderhead
Covalent Adds Global New Block Specimen Producers:
To meet the growing demand and facilitate the expansion of its network, Covalent is also increasing the maximum number of operators from 29 to 40 across all current operator roles. This adjustment will enable Covalent to further increase security and more effectively address the evolving requirements of its ecosystem, with a global expansion reaching locations in the APAC and European regions. This flexibility strengthens the future of the network to become the most decentralized cryptographically secure data availability layer in the world and an in demand resource in AI and Data Science.
Here are the new operators joining the Covalent Network:
- Thunderhead Labs: A provider of non-custodial staking solutions, public goods, and advisory support to nascent ecosystems, institutions, and retail entities.
- Restake: A Web3 infrastructure provider that offers institutional grade infrastructure, operating validators and RPC nodes for leading blockchain protocols.
- DappLooker: An AI enabled business intelligence and analytics hub empowering seamless transformation of web3 data into revenue.
- Corthos Capital: A blockchain venture capital fund that offers investors secure access to a diverse range of both innovative and established blockchain platforms.
- Allnodes: A provider of non-custodial staking and masternodes services.
These operators will play integral roles in maintaining the health and functionality of the Covalent Network, contributing to a higher degree of decentralization in the network. Recognizing the exceptional qualifications of these operators, Covalent recognizes their capacity to offer contributions beyond basic infrastructure management. By integrating these groups, Covalent aims to harness their expertise effectively, thereby expanding and strengthening the Covalent ecosystem.
“Covalent has built critical data infrastructure essential for data availability in a multi-chain world. Its stellar team has built a strong, well-positioned platform that will benefit from the industry’s next major growth cycle.” – Virgil Chan, Managing Partner, Corthos Capital
The Role of Staking in the Covalent Network & Upcoming Light Clients
Staking plays a pivotal role within the Covalent Network, serving as the mechanism to align incentives and ensure the quality operations of the network. To be eligible for submitting proofs for the correct extraction of blockchain data, Network Operators are required to stake a minimum of 175,000 CQT per Block Specimen Producer. This commitment not only demonstrates their dedication but also enables them to earn rewards for contributing to the accurate and secure extraction of historical blockchain data.
As Covalent gears up for significant advancements, Covalent will be including a new Light Client Operator role later this year named Olympic Light Clients. This allows lighter operators on hardware akin to the power of a mobile device to participate and contribute to the network without the larger capital investment (175K CQT) required for a Block Specimen Producer node currently. More details on this coming soon.
Visit the Covalent Network Operators dashboard for more insights.
About Covalent
Covalent (CQT) is shipping data infrastructure for the decentralized ecosystem, solving Long-Term Data Availability for Ethereum—infrastructure that can re-execute blobs and shape AI. With CQT staking now back on Ethereum, The New Dawn of network expansion towards the Ethereum Wayback Machine commences. Today, this means AI use cases have unfettered access to onchain data from over +225 blockchains and growing.
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