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Ether.fi mandates Optimum's mump2p software across all node operators

Optimum announced that its block-propagation software mump2p is live on Ethereum mainnet, with liquid restaking provider Ether.fi requiring all 12 of its node operators to deploy the protocol.

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Image: @laurashin

Liquid restaking provider Ether.fi is requiring all 12 of its node operators to run mump2p, a block-propagation tool developed by networking startup Optimum, according to reports from Unchained and Crypto Briefing. Optimum, led by MIT professor Muriel Médard, announced that the software has reached production on Ethereum mainnet after Ether.fi previously treated its use as optional.[3][2]

Optimum reported that 16 node operators—including Blockdaemon, Everstake, P2P.org, Stakefish, and Bitcoin Suisse—are operating on the protocol. Together, they manage roughly 22,000 validator keys backed by more than 1.4 million staked ETH, which the company claims represents over 3% of all staked ETH on Ethereum. Optimum also highlighted a self-created metric of approximately $3.7 billion in "Total Value Boosted," which was left undefined in the announcement.[3][1]

Rather than replacing Ethereum's standard GossipSub protocol, mump2p functions as an auxiliary channel that transmits data using random linear network coding. Optimum claimed its early mainnet measurements showed blocks arriving 2.42 times faster than through GossipSub, with arrival-time variance declining by approximately 7.88 times. However, the startup did not detail the methodology used to gather the figures. While Ether.fi co-founder Rok Kopp said the firm only mandates infrastructure when confident it raises standards for stakers and the network, Crypto Briefing noted the requirement could concentrate reliance on Optimum's tooling.[3][2][1]

Optimum raised an $11 million seed round led by 1kx in April 2025 and conducted a seven-operator private testnet that June. While Optimum currently states that node integration is free and permissionless, it previously described the network in August as permissioned via API keys. The firm plans to expand the protocol to additional high-throughput blockchains.[3]

Key facts

  • Optimum announced that its block-propagation software mump2p is now active in production on the Ethereum mainnet.
  • Ether.fi mandated mump2p across all 12 of its node operators after previously offering it as an optional upgrade.
  • Optimum stated that 16 node operators run mump2p across roughly 22,000 validator keys controlling over 1.4 million ETH, or more than 3% of all staked ether.
  • Participating node operators named by Optimum include Blockdaemon, Everstake, P2P.org, Stakefish, and Bitcoin Suisse.
  • Optimum claimed in self-reported data that mump2p delivers blocks 2.42 times faster than GossipSub with about 7.88 times lower arrival-time variance.
  • The mump2p protocol runs alongside Ethereum's default gossip network as an added channel utilizing random linear network coding.
  • Optimum raised an $11 million seed round led by 1kx in April 2025 and plans to bring its software to other high-throughput blockchains.

Sources · 3 sources

  1. LS

    Laura Shin@laurashinPost on X ·

    Optimum says 16 Ethereum node operators covering more than 1.4 million staked ETH now use mump2p, and that blocks reach its users 2.42 times faster than over GossipSub. The speed figures are the company's own. https://t.co/kF2wUVXgRA https://t.co/IGuxEj6JPU

    Open source
  2. CB

    Crypto BriefingArticle ·

    Ether.fi makes Optimum’s mump2p mandatory for all its node operators Ether.fi's mandatory adoption of mump2p could centralize reliance on Optimum's software, impacting Ethereum's staking infrastructure resilience. The post Ether.fi makes Optimum’s mump2p mandatory for all its node operators appeared first on Crypto Briefing .

    Open source
  3. UN

    UnchainedArticle ·

    Ether.fi Mandates Optimum’s mump2p for All Its Node Operators Optimum , a networking startup run by MIT professor Muriel Médard , said Tuesday that its block-propagation software, mump2p , is in production on Ethereum mainnet , and that liquid restaking provider ether.fi now requires every one of its 12 node operators to use it. The company counted 16 node operators on the protocol, running roughly 22,000 validator keys with more than 1.4 million ETH at stake. Optimum put that at over 3% of all ETH staked. Operators it named include Blockdaemon, Everstake, P2P.org, Stakefish and Bitcoin Suisse. Ether.fi, which announced a blockspace deal with ETHGas in April, had previously left the software optional for its operators, according to Optimum. “We don’t mandate new infrastructure across our entire validator set unless we’re confident it raises the bar for our stakers and for the network,” said Rok Kopp , ether.fi’s co-founder and chief growth officer, in the announcement. Optimum also gave a dollar figure of about $3.7 billion in what it calls “Total Value Boosted,” a metric of its own that the announcement does not define. Get Unchained’s crypto news in your inbox with the free Unchained Daily newsletter . Speed Figures Come From Optimum Ethereum validators lose attestation and MEV rewards when they see a block late, and Optimum argues that validators far from major hosting hubs pay the most. Its pitch is a faster path for blocks between nodes: mump2p runs as an added channel next to Ethereum’s standard gossip rather than replacing it, the company wrote in August, and encodes data using random linear network coding, a technique the company says was co-invented at MIT. By Optimum’s own early mainnet measurements, blocks arrived 2.42 times faster than with GossipSub, the peer-to-peer messaging protocol Ethereum’s consensus layer uses by default, and arrival-time variance was about 7.88 times lower. The company said mump2p users got the block first in nine of 10 measurements. The numbers are self-reported, and the announcement did not say how they were gathered. The same two multiples appeared in an Optimum-sponsored Four Pillars report in August, which described a test across 30 gateways while the company was still preparing its mainnet integration. Médard framed the case in trading terms in the announcement: “In traditional finance, firms spend billions shaving milliseconds off execution because speed is money.” From Testnet to Production Optimum ran a private testnet with seven operators in June 2025, two months after raising an $11 million seed round led by 1kx . It says connecting is free and permissionless , needs no changes to consensus or execution software, and takes one engineer less than an hour. In August, however, Optimum described the network as permissioned for now, with operators connecting through an API key it issued. The company said it plans to bring the protocol to other high-throughput blockchains after Ethereum. Related Listen: Bits + Bips: Should Ethereum Really Burn Its Staking Yield to Zero? The post Ether.fi Mandates Optimum’s mump2p for All Its Node Operators appeared first on Unchained .

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