Convert a 0x01 validator to 0x02
A 0x01 validator earns rewards on up to 32 ETH: anything above is paid out to its withdrawal address every few days. A compounding (0x02) validator keeps its rewards staked, up to 2048 ETH, so they earn rewards too. To upgrade, send a request from your withdrawal address. Prysm and your keys are not involved, and the validator keeps running as before. The upgrade is permanent: you can't switch back to 0x01.
Before you begin
- The validator has
0x01credentials. If they start with0x00, first convert it to0x01. - The validator is active and not exiting. The system ignores requests for a pending, exiting, or exited validator.
- You control the withdrawal address in a wallet that can connect to a website (for example, a hardware wallet through a browser extension), with a little ETH for gas and the request fee.
Check your credentials
Ask your beacon node:
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:3500/eth/v1/beacon/states/head/validators/<VALIDATOR_INDEX_OR_PUBKEY> | jq '.data.validator.withdrawal_credentials'
curl.exe -s http://127.0.0.1:3500/eth/v1/beacon/states/head/validators/<VALIDATOR_INDEX_OR_PUBKEY> | jq '.data.validator.withdrawal_credentials'
If they start with 0x01, follow this page. The last 40 hex characters are the withdrawal address: that's the wallet you must send the request from. If they start with 0x02, the validator already compounds.
Upgrade the validator
- Rewards above 32 ETH are no longer paid out automatically. Only balances above 2048 ETH are.
- Any balance above 32 ETH at the time of the upgrade goes through the deposit queue again before it counts for rewards. When the queue is long, that takes days.
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Open Validator actions on the Staking Launchpad:
https://launchpad.ethereum.org/en/validator-actionsType the address yourself. Websites that offer to "help" with this step are phishing.
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Connect the wallet that controls the withdrawal address. The Launchpad lists the validators whose withdrawal address it is.
-
Pick the validator and the upgrade action, then check the validator index and public key.
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Sign and send the transaction in your wallet. It pays gas plus a small request fee. If the request is invalid (wrong sender, validator not active), the network ignores it, and it doesn’t refund the fee.
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Open the Upgrade page of the EthStaker console:
https://hoodi.console.ethstaker.org/upgradeType the address yourself. Websites that offer to "help" with this step are phishing.
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Connect the wallet that controls the withdrawal address. The console lists its
0x01validators. -
Select the validators to upgrade, check their index and public key, then click Upgrade.
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Sign and send the transaction in your wallet. It pays gas plus a small request fee. If the request is invalid (wrong sender, validator not active), the network ignores it, and it doesn’t refund the fee.
Check that it works
The upgrade applies when the request's block is processed, usually within minutes. When many requests are waiting, it can take longer. Run the credentials check again: the credentials now start with 0x02 and still end with your address.
If the validator had more than 32 ETH, the excess shows up as a pending deposit until it's processed:
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:3500/eth/v1/beacon/states/head/pending_deposits | jq
curl.exe -s http://127.0.0.1:3500/eth/v1/beacon/states/head/pending_deposits | jq