TLDR
Validators using Optimum’s mump2p tool held 7.8% of all staked ETH by November 3, up from just over 3% at launch.
Ether.fi required all 12 of its node operators to use the service.
Optimum says blocks reach validators two to four times faster than through Ethereum’s standard network.
An independent StereumLabs test across 36 nodes found mixed results by client.
Vitalik Buterin said erasure-coded networking could improve how Ethereum delivers large data.
A new networking tool for Ethereum validators has more than doubled its user base in two weeks on mainnet. Optimum said validators using its mump2p protocol held 7.8% of all staked ETH by November 3, up from just over 3% at its October 20 launch.
The company says the tool helps blocks travel faster across the network. However, an independent test found mixed results across different client software.
My team @get_optimum built the p2p networking efficiency improvement that @VitalikButerin is talking about in his second point here, and it’s live on Ethereum mainnet today.
We use Random Linear Network Coding, which is a provably optimum coding scheme for broadcasting data… https://t.co/DAMqu1lL4I
— Muriel Medard (@MurielMedard) November 9, 2026
Large Staking Firms Sign On
At launch, Optimum reported 16 node operators running about 22,000 validator keys. Those validators held more than 1.4 million staked ETH, which the company valued at about $3.4 billion.
Participants included Blockdaemon, Everstake, P2P.org, Stakefish, Luganodes, InfStones, and Validation Cloud. Optimum calls the value of this connected stake “Total Value Boosted.”
Restaking provider ether.fi required all 12 of its node operators to use mump2p. Stakefish confirmed it had added the gateway to its Ethereum validator setup.
The service is free for validator block propagation. Operators connect through Optimum’s gateway and onboarding system.
The gateway runs next to a validator’s existing consensus client. It works with Prysm, Lighthouse, Teku, Nimbus, and Lodestar, and it does not require any change to Ethereum’s consensus rules.
Ethereum currently uses a system called GossipSub, where nodes pass messages to peers and sometimes receive duplicate copies. Optimum’s tool uses Random Linear Network Coding, or RLNC, which mixes pieces of data before sending them. Receiving nodes rebuild the original once they collect enough coded pieces.
Ethereum’s Block Delivery Just Got a Potential 3.5x Speed Boost
An independent team, @get_optimum , is bringing an alternative networking solution to Ethereum.
Its new P2P protocol, mump2p, went live on Ethereum mainnet on October 20, 2026.
Here’s why it matters
1/ The… https://t.co/ymBY9vXmP7 pic.twitter.com/hkJ7BqPl57
— Ethereum Daily (@ETH_Daily) November 10, 2026
Company Data and Outside Tests Differ
In its launch announcement , Optimum reported block delivery two to four times faster than GossipSub. It said its system beat the standard route in nine out of ten measurements and cut arrival-time variance by 7.88 times.
A separate company analysis of 50,292 slots found an average lead of 335 milliseconds. That equals a 3.3-fold speed gain in that comparison.
StereumLabs ran an independent test across 36 mainnet nodes and found less consistent results. Blocks arrived earlier on Lighthouse, Prysm, and Grandine, but Teku showed little change and Nimbus was slower.
The researchers did not find statistically clear gains across the full sample. Optimum said its global acceleration system was active during the test, which may have helped nodes that were not using mump2p.
Lido’s evaluation program also tested the tool on a testnet from September 17 to October 15. Across 180,327 slots, blocks arrived 407 milliseconds sooner over mump2p. Researchers warned that testnet results do not directly predict mainnet performance.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin wrote on November 9 that erasure-coded networking could improve the delivery of large data objects. He named implementation complexity as the main tradeoff.
Buterin also described a design that would cut the validators in each slot’s critical path from about 30,000 to 500, which could double consensus speed. These ideas are separate from mump2p and would need more work before changing how Ethereum operates.
In a November 10 statement, Optimum co-founder and MIT professor Muriel Médard gave the latest update on the tool’s performance. She said about 90% of blocks were reaching participating validators around twice as fast.
The post Ethereum Staking Giants Bet on a Faster Network as Adoption Doubles appeared first on Blockonomi .
