Ethereum Validator Lifecycle: A Deep Dive

Ethereum today implements the most decentralized proof-of-stake consensus. The current number of active validator keys exceeds 10^6, and each block is attested by hundreds of validators. The Eth 2.0 validating infrastructure is complex, split into beacon and execution layers, and includes many interesting mechanics. This intricate system is continuously upgraded "on-the-fly," which adds significant complexity. With that in mind, we decided to fill the gap between the higher-level documentation about Ethereum's consensus, economic security, and validation, and the actual code running in real production. The goal of this article is to give readers a comprehensive understanding of how an Ethereum validator works and provide links to the real code for those who want to dive deeper.

This article is not intended as a guide to estimate validator rewards. As you will see, there are too many factors in Ethereum's consensus to provide a straightforward "algorithmic" answer to this question. Factors such as the number of validators, the behaviour of effective balances, deposits, exits, withdrawals, slashings, bugs, and many other factors influence validators' rewards. These answers are better uncovered by analyzing real validator behavior and statistics. If you need a financial analysis of validator upkeep, it's more practical to explore resources that aggregate information about validator activity, such as beaconcha.in.

So, we have a validator and want to participate in the most decentralized consensus in the world. Let's begin!

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Link: https://mixbytes.io/blog/ethereum-validator-lifecycle-a-deep-dive