Ether.fi makes Optimum’s mump2p mandatory for all its node operators

Ether.fi has turned a nice-to-have into a must-have. The liquid staking protocol now requires all 12 of its node operators to run mump2p, a networking tool built by startup Optimum. Until now, using the software was optional for Ether.fi operators. The change came alongside Optimum’s mainnet launch of the protocol on October 20, 2026. With that move, 16 Ethereum node operators are now running mump2p in production. Together they manage over 1.4 million staked ETH and approximately 22,000 validator keys. What mump2p actually does Every Ethereum block has to travel across a global network of computers before validators can vote on it. Today, that job falls largely to GossipSub, Ethereum’s existing propagation protocol. Optimum says mump2p delivers blocks 2.5 to 3.5 times faster than GossipSub. The company also claims lower timing variance and says up to 90% of blocks get accelerated when routed through its system. Under the hood, mump2p uses Random Linear Network Coding, or RLNC, layered on top of libp2p. libp2p is the networking toolkit that Ethereum clients already use to talk to each other. RLNC is easier to picture than to pronounce. Rather than shipping a file in rigid sequential...