Vipnode is an economic incentive for running Ethereum full nodes.
The goal is to allow the Ethereum network to remain decentralized by creating a financial marketplace for more people to run full nodes and serve native light clients.
Vipnode 2.0 Beta is ready for testing!
Try it now You'll need a terminal and a geth node.
There aren’t enough nodes available.
Whenever Ethereum usage spikes, there are more light clients on the network than there are full nodes to support them all. It can take hours to get online.
We need more full nodes with light nodes slots.
Running a full node isn't free. It can cost upwards of $60/mo on AWS. Many nodes are run as a donation to the community, but it's not sustainable.
Vipnode creates an economic incentive to run a full node.
Pay a small subscription fee to get priority access to a collection of full nodes who share the profit.
Paying for vip access means you can always get online instantly.
Instead of waiting hours for your light client to try to find a full node with space for you, vipnodes prioritize paying customers for instant access.
Roadmap
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Version 1: Solo Vipnode (MVP)
Proof of concept powered by a smart contract: Pay-what-you-want and get whitelisted on a Vipnode.
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Version 2: Vipnode Pool
Similar to how mining pools work, vipnode pools will support third-party full nodes to join as hosts and share in the profit from paying vip clients. Progress updates here.
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Version 3 and beyond
Reduce the trust placed in pools to disburse profits correctly by establishing peer-to-peer payment channels between clients and full nods.
