Rocket Pool executes the Saturn 1 mainnet upgrade

What happened

Rocket Pool launched Saturn 1 on Ethereum mainnet, replacing the new-validator minipool path with megapools and changing node-operator bonds, reward routing, protocol economics, and future upgrade mechanics.

What changed

New megapool validators could use 4 ETH bonds; legacy minipool deposits were disabled; multiple validators could share a megapool withdrawal contract; revenue splits became adjustable; and forced delegate upgrades expanded the protocol's ability to migrate megapool logic.

What did not change

The launch did not establish that every legacy operator migrated, that rETH exit liquidity improved under stress, or that the upgrade made rETH safer or newly approved.

Confirmed

• Rocket Pool's official timeline dates the Saturn 1 mainnet launch to 2026-02-18.
• The official v1.4 release was published on 2026-02-11 with a mainnet genesis-time correction.
• Official documentation says megapools consolidate multiple validators under one node-operator contract and reduce the required bond per validator to 4 ETH.
• Official documentation says legacy minipool deposits are disabled and megapool delegate logic can be forcibly upgraded.

Still open

• The supplied evidence does not independently reconcile every deployed implementation address and execution transaction.
• Operator migration, megapool concentration, deposit-pool capacity, rETH secondary liquidity, and stressed exit performance required post-launch observation.
• The practical limits and governance process for adjustable revenue splits and forced delegate upgrades required memo-level control review.

What it means for an advisor

• Review the Rocket Pool memo's node economics, delegate-upgrade authority, validator structure, and exit assumptions against the operative Saturn 1 design.
• Update the control graph for megapool contracts, adjustable revenue allocation, and forced delegate upgrades.
• Continue monitoring rETH discount, deposit-pool capacity, operator count, and megapool concentration; launch alone does not resolve liquidity or governance risk.