How do validator staking rewards work?

How ETH staking rewards work

'Rewards' refers to the payments Ethereum validators receive from the protocol in return for their contributions to keeping the network secure, stable, and operational. They comprise:

• A base rate, paid to validators who attest blocks. This is frequent because it happens at every block, and;
• Additional rewards paid to the one validator randomly selected to propose the block. Given the total number of Ethereum validators, each validator proposes a block every 140 days on average. Block proposal rewards include a default protocol reward (0.05 ETH) plus additional MEV rewards ("tips"), the amount of which depends on the transactions included in the block.

Since the responsibility for block proposal is assigned to validators randomly, and the rewards for proposing a block depends on the transactions included in the specific block, the amount of rewards earned when proposing a new block varies. If your validator's rewards rate on MetaMask Staking is higher or lower than expected, it's most likely because of this natural variation. See our article on rewards variability here.

How rewards are displayed

Rewards rate

In MetaMask Validator Staking, we display three reward rate data points:

• On the staking widget: the average rewards rate of all Consensys-operated validators over the last seven days, minus the 10% MetaMask fee.
• In your 'Validators' reporting tab: the reward rate of your validator since it became active, minus the 10% MetaMask fee.
• In the 'Accounts' reporting tab: the reward rate of all of your validators since they became active, minus the 10% MetaMask fee.

Calculating the rewards rate

The methodology uses a rolling window calculation of total rewards based on the time periods (all-time for your validators and 7 days for Consensys Staking average) up to the latest available day where validator rewards are calculated.

We take into account all rewards (attestation rewards, block rewards and MEV) and penalties that happened during the period, then divide them by the average ETH balance of the validator(s) during that period. And then we extrapolate this timeframe for the 1 year period.

The formula to calculate validator reward rate is:

Total ETH rewards / active_stake / time_period * 365 days * 100

Where:

• Total ETH rewards is the total rewards of active validators in the relevant group. If the formula is applied to your reward rate, this is based on the total ETH you have staked; if it is used to calculate the expected rate in the staking widget, it encompasses all MetaMask Staking validators.
• active_stake is the amount of ETH staked, in multiples of 32.
• time_period is the duration that your ETH has been staked.

not

If you just recently staked, you may not see a rewards rate until we have enough data to provide one, which usually takes less than 48 hours. If it's been more than 48 hours and you don't see a rewards rate, contact support via the 'Contact Support' button on the homepage of this site.

To learn more about how validators generate rewards, see Why is my validator staking rewards rate higher or lower than I expected?.

Balance

'Balance' reflects the real-time balance of your validator, as it is on the Beacon Chain. Due to the way the Ethereum protocol works, your balance will also include some rewards that are not yet claimable. Rewards are 'swept' out of validators every nine days, and will be removed from your balance at this stage. (Note that these rewards that are not yet in 'Available rewards' have not yet had the MetaMask fee taken.)

As a result of this function, your balance will rise and fall naturally as rewards are 'swept' into 'Available rewards'.

Available rewards

'Available rewards' is exactly as the name suggests: rewards that you can claim. The figure displayed here has already had the 10% MetaMask fee applied.

FAQs

Will I receive MEV rewards for validator staking?

Yes, you will receive the MEV (maximal extractable value) rewards when your validator proposes a block.

MEV rewards are accounted for in your rewards, along with the rest of the rewards generated by your validator(s), such as attestation rewards and block rewards.

Consensys Staking uses software called “MEV-Boost” to optimize users' MEV rewards. It is connected to multiple MEV "relayers" to ensure that when your validator is selected to propose a block, it proposes the block with the highest MEV reward possible.

To learn more about MEV, head to the Ethereum Foundation docs here.

Where can I find more detail about my rewards?

The MetaMask Staking team is working on adding more reward reporting and detail into the app itself. Until then, we suggest your follow this guide to help understand your rewards better.

In the 'Validators' tab, click on the more actions button on the right and then 'View on beacon chain':

This will open your validator's page in the Beacon Chain explorer, beaconcha.in.

From here, click on the 'Withdrawals' tab, which has an icon resembling a bank note:

The listed transactions display the rewards that the Ethereum protocol has distributed to your validator.

The ETH values you see here do not account for the MetaMask fee, and are therefore higher than the amounts you will receive.