SSV Network Abandons Legacy Cluster Rewards in Favor of Ethereum-Backed Fees

SSV Network has discontinued legacy cluster rewards under its Incentivized Mainnet Program (IMP), effective June 30, 2026. Validators are now urged to migrate to ETH-denominated fees or risk losing access to economic incentives linked to their clusters. Unclaimed IMP rewards from the legacy system remain available until January 2, 2027, after which they will revert to the DAO Treasury.

The move to ETH-based fees aligns SSV Network's distributed validator technology (DVT) with Ethereum's evolving staking environment. This shift simplifies validator operations by using ETH for both fee payments and rewards, creating a unified economic model. According to DIP-57, incentives for older SSV clusters no longer fit the modernized staking architecture and have been redirected to ETH-based clusters.

Validators who wish to migrate to ETH-denominated fees can do so via the SSV Network app. Migration involves switching the cluster fee model to ETH, funding the operational runway, and automatically refunding the remaining SSV balance. Importantly, validators will continue operating without interruption during this process.