The Rocket Pool community got spooky! In the month of October, community members changed their profile pictures to Halloween-themed avatars and earned a POAP for participating.

Smart Node v1.17.0 is now live, bringing major client updates—most of which raise the default block gas limit to 45M—and a new pruning feature that allows node operators to reduce storage needs by enabling partial history expiry. This is a recommended update for all Node Operators. Full details and upgrade instructions: https://github.com/rocket-pool/smartnode/releases/tag/v1.17.0.

In anticipation of an exciting year of upgrades and growth ahead, the Rocket Pool community is sharing their predictions for the all-time high (ATH) price of RPL and ETH during Q4 2025. Participants in this event receive a commemorative POAP.

Rocket Pool Smart Node v1.16.0 is out now, featuring key client updates, new features, and a critical change to rewards submissions. oDAO members must upgrade before the next submission to prevent consensus issues, and it's a recommended update for all Node Operators. Full release notes and upgrade instructions here: https://github.com/rocket-pool/smartnode/releases/tag/v1.16.0. Node operators that upgrade within 48 hours received a POAP.

Rocket Pool has released Smart Node v1.15.7, a major update featuring critical client upgrades, oDAO health check fixes, and a major consolidation of legacy repositories into the main smartnode repo for easier future development. Node operators who upgrade are eligible to claim a commemorative POAP. Release details and update instructions are available here: https://github.com/rocket-pool/smartnode/releases/tag/v1.15.7.

This thread was a space for Rocket Pool believers to share why they were still here—what they believed in about Rocket Pool and RPL, what it felt like to hold through the lows, and how they could stay positive and proactive. It offered support, reflection, and encouragement, grounded in shared values around decentralization and Ethereum staking. The focus stayed on honest experiences, not blame or mockery—just voices from those still building and believing. Participants received a POAP.

It’s been a turbulent week for crypto, with RPL and other altcoins continuing to struggle as the token price hovers near $5. While the market remains uncertain, Rocket Pool has exciting upgrades on the way, such as Saturn on the horizon. Until then, the price action will be a bumpy ride. Community members within the Rocket Pool Discord that share their struggles receive a POAP.

The Rocket Pool Smartnode v1.14.0 release includes mandatory client updates for Nethermind, Prysm, Besu, and Reth, alongside Smart Node changes such as removing the 16 ETH minipool option, enhancing deposit prompts, and optimizing RPC calls for oDAO nodes. Minor adjustments were also made to accommodate Saturn-0 and update messages. Shortly after, version 1.14.1 was released to address a breaking change in Prysm and update Lodestar, which is only necessary for Prysm users. Node operators that updated within 72 hours received a POAP.

The contributors to the Rocket Pool #support channel work in the shadows, helping to keep the validators from Rocket Pool node operators functional while protecting us all from scammers. In October, 2024 the community shared stories of why they are thankful for #support.