Rocket Pool has released v1.13.10 of the Smart Node, a recommended update featuring important bug fixes, client updates, and minor enhancements. This version includes updates to Geth, Besu, Reth, Teku, Nimbus, and Nethermind, along with new MEV-Boost support for the Holesky testnet and optimizations for oDAO RPC calls. Additional improvements include Reth peer parameter controls, cleanup for V10, and fixes to various issues. Rocket Pool node operators that were the first to upgrade received a POAP. This month's POAP was designed by talented Icelandic community member IcelandCalling.eth.

On July 11, 2024, Rocket Pool released version 1.13.7 of the Smart Node. This recommended update includes client updates, bug fixes, and changes such as updating the Nethermind auto pruning threshold to 350 GB, fixing oDAO balances/prices submissions, deprecating node voting commands, and improving delegate and signaling-address wording. Node operators that updated quickly received a POAP.

The Rocket Pool Houston release delivered Protocol DAO on-chain voting. Shortly, the Protocol DAO will be able to vote on Snapshot for meta governance and vote on-chain to make protocol changes. Before Rocket Pool can enable Protocol DAO voting, node operators need to initialize their voting power in the new system and update their signaling address that is used to vote on Snapshot. Node operators that initialized their voting power by July 15 received a POAP.

Rocket Pool node operators utilized their Smart Node Upgrade POAPs they had earned from January to April 2024 for a chance to win RPL tokens and their name featured on the commemorative POAP. woh.eth, deukey.eth, corethereum.eth, and haloooloolo.eth were victorious during the raffle! This POAP was given to all raffle participants.

On March 11, 2024, Rocket Pool launched Smartnode version 1.11.9, a crucial update for all users. It's especially necessary if you haven't upgraded to v1.11.8 or if you're using MEV-Boost v1.6. This release incorporates significant updates from clients. It's recommended for everyone to update, as it ensures compatibility with Dencun and includes various enhancements and bug fixes across all clients. Node operators that upgraded within 24 hours were awarded a POAP.

Ether first crossed $4,000 in October 2021, at the time it was near the end of a wild bull run. Today we passed $4k for the second time, nearly 30 months later, with a totally new perspective: this feels more like the beginning of a new bull cycle than the end of one. Congratulations to developers, operators, and community members who worked hard to bring value to Ether. Art by /u/Few-Bake-6463, POAP developed by superphiz.

All clients have been updated to their latest Dencun-ready versions, including Geth (v1.13.11), Besu (v24.1.1), Nethermind (v1.25.3), Nimbus (v24.2.0 with regression fixes from v24.1.2), Lodestar (v1.15.0), Teku (v24.1.1), Prysm (v4.2.1, causing potential failures on certain older CPUs without AVX support on Holeski testnet after Deneb fork, but not affecting Mainnet), and Lighthouse (v4.6.0, a medium-priority release with new features, performance enhancements, and bug fixes for Mainnet users). Smartnode changes include Nimbus pruning mode defaulting to "Prune" for new users, with existing users needing manual configuration via rocketpool service config. The deprecated Prater testnet has been entirely removed from Smartnode, and Nethermind's automatic pruning threshold increased from 250 GB to 300 GB. Rocket Pool node operators that updated their software within 24 hours received this POAP.