🎉 Big news, Rocket Pool community! 🥳 The SEC just approved the first Ethereum ETF, and our #trading room on Discord is buzzing with excitement! Imagine Eth, our beloved decentralized hero, getting a shiny new badge of approval from the big leagues. It's like seeing our favorite digital star finally getting its moment in the spotlight! Picture the scene: the Rocket Pool crew, all gathered in the #trading room, decked out in virtual party hats, celebrating with confetti made of smart contracts, and raising glasses of pixelated champagne. 🥂 This ETF approval is more than just a win; it's a milestone worthy of a moonwalk! 🌕✨ Now, investors—whether they're new to the crypto world or seasoned pros—can jump into Ethereum as easily as buying a stock. It's like Eth has rolled out the red carpet, making it simpler than ever to be part of the revolution. And let's not forget the memes—oh, the glorious memes! Get ready for an onslaught of "ETH to the moon" jokes and celebratory GIFs flooding the chat. So, grab your virtual popcorn and join the fun in the #trading room. Eth's future is shining brighter and looking more mainstream than ever. 🚀💫 Here's to new beginnings and even bigger crypto dreams! 🥳🎉

On March 13, 2024, the Dencun hard fork occurred. The bustling #trading community within the Rocket Pool Discord diligently monitored their nodes to ensure everything remained stable during the fork. Numerous users shared their Ethereum logs, as the massive blob ASCII printed to their command lines. This upgrade, being dubbed the smoothest hard fork ever, transformed what could have been a daunting process into a seamless transition. As a token of recognition, the Rocket Pool community actively engaging in the #trading channel during the Dencun fork were awarded a POAP.

On July 17, 2023, a significant event took place within the Rocket Pool community as their Discord server was compromised. During this incident, a fraudulent airdrop was shared, leading to the banning of esteemed members from the server. However, in the face of adversity, the resilient Rocket Pool community united on a secondary server to confront and rectify the situation.

On May 2, 2023, Rocket Pool surpassed an astonishing 2500 nodes. A tremendous feat worthy of Sparta in its prime and a hard fought battle to get here thanks in no small part to Maverick. Plus, The Honorable Dybsy in a bunny suit in celebration of his HOP-RP ambassadorship.

On March 31, 2023, Smartnode v1.9.0 was unleashed upon the world, heralding a new era of possibility and potential for the Rocket Pool protocol. This upgrade wasn't just any ordinary update - it was a crucial step in preparing for the much-anticipated Atlas and Shapella updates. The Rocket Pool community had been eagerly anticipating this moment, and the excitement was palpable. Joe, the hard-working developer at the heart of the project, couldn't help but feel a sense of awe as he looked back on the long road that had led them to this point. The countless hours of effort, and the relentless pursuit of excellence from himself, the team, and the Rocket Pool community had all led to this moment. As he gazed upon the fruits of his labor, Joe knew that the future held limitless possibilities. The release of Smartnode v1.9.0 was just the beginning, and he was excited to be a part of the journey that lay ahead. Poap designed and distributed by ShfRyn.

For the month of February 2023, jcrtp.eth (Joe) has been burning the proverbial midnight oil and working some very long hours to ship Atlas and v1.9 on time. The Rocket Pool community took the time to thank Joe for his amazing work and thank his wife for supporting him during that time. This POAP was awarded to anyone who shared kind words to Joe and his family. POAP developed by superphiz and designed by ShfRyn.

On February 23, 2023, Stader unveiled its white paper on ETHX, a promising staking alternative to Rocket Pool that promises to offer LEB4s. The announcement sparked a lively discussion on the Rocket Pool community Discord, with some members debating whether the platform's forked code gives it a competitive edge in the rapidly-evolving staking landscape. POAP design by ShfRyn.