Ethereum Stakers, we have a gift for you!

As a THANK YOU for keeping Ethereum decentralized, I'm stoked to announce the official launch of Guardians of the Ether (GOTE), a project to reward and incentivize EthStakers

Quick disclaimer:

This is *not* a monetary reward, nor is anyone involved with this project financially benefiting from it. This is a passion project, because it's super important that we do everything we can to keep Ethereum decentralized

Guardians of the Ether are non-transferable NFTs issued to EthStakers

Beyond the unique art that accompanies each NFT, they can be used to:
- Grant access to events
- Establish eligibility for airdrops
- Denote membership in, and even grant governance within, the EthStaker community

The art was created by Xofee!
 
The eye in the center symbolize that the staker watches over the network, guarding Ethereum from the forces of centralization.

*and* it's upgradeable *and* it has varying degrees of rarity!

Staking for longer allows you to evolve your Guardian to higher levels.

This is reflected in the number of nodes in the network. First-year stakers receive a Guardian with three nodes, forming a triangle. Second-year stakers get four nodes, connecting into a diamond; third-year get five nodes, and so on.

But how many nodes are actually *connected* to one another is a luck of the draw when you mint!

Nodes are connected by solid lines, while dashed lines represent potential connections.

If all nodes are connected to one another, it's a perfect roll!

All solo stakers and RocketPool node operators are eligible.

The whitelist is maintained by 
@GLCstaked and the @Stake_Cat team

Snapshots are on Sep 15 each year, starting with the merge in 2022. If you were staking on Sep 15 of 2022 or 2023, you can mint one right now!

So how do you mint?

Just go to https://etherguardians.xyz

Hope you get a perfect roll! 

Or I don't know, I hope you're happy in life. It's fun to get a perfect roll though

Guardians of the Ether was a passion project by myself and several other members of the Maitri team who want to see Ethereum remain decentralized.

And we couldn't have done it without 
@Xofee3 and @GLCstaked  - a huge thank you!!

And of course, the support of the prior and current leadership within the EthStaker community has been instrumental.

Thank you @superphiz and @nixorokish
 
We all recorded a brief chat about it recently, you can watch / listen to it here:

And of course, the support of the prior and current leadership within the EthStaker community has been instrumental.

Thank you @superphiz and @nixorokish
 
We all recorded a brief chat about it recently, you can watch / listen to it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvFyIvgKmso

You can always find us in the 'ether-guardians' channel of the EthStaker discord server if you have any support questions!

Now go mint your well-earned Guardian!

And thank you for staking.

That's the takeaway - Thank You.