Validator Consolidation

This guide walks through consolidating validators in Lido Staking Vaults using the EIP-7251 mechanism. Consolidation merges the balance of one or more source validators into a single target validator.

Consolidation is irreversible

Once submitted, consolidation requests cannot be cancelled. Verify all pubkeys and parameters before confirming.

Why Consolidate?

• Reduce the number of active validators while preserving total staked ETH
• Lower ongoing validator maintenance overhead
• Fix node operator fee calculation after migrating validators to vault withdrawal credentials

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure:

1. Role: Your account must have NODE_OPERATOR_FEE_EXEMPT_ROLE on the Dashboard contract
2. Fresh report: A fresh oracle report must be submitted to the vault (yarn start report w by-vault-submit)
3. Validator eligibility: Source validators must be active on the Beacon Chain and eligible for consolidation
4. Target validator WC: Target validators must have vault withdrawal credentials (0x02-type pointing to the StakingVault)
5. WalletConnect (for batch mode): Required when using --batch flag

Check your role on the Dashboard:

yarn start vo r roles -v <vault_address>

Prepare Consolidation Config

The easiest way to define consolidation pairs is a JSON file mapping each target pubkey to an array of source pubkeys.

Format (consolidation-config.json):

{
  "0x<target_pubkey_1>": ["0x<source_pubkey_1a>", "0x<source_pubkey_1b>"],
  "0x<target_pubkey_2>": ["0x<source_pubkey_2a>"]
}

• Each key is a target validator pubkey (48-byte BLS key, 96 hex chars with 0x prefix)
• Each value is an array of source validator pubkeys to consolidate into that target
• Source validators' balances will be swept into the target validator

Step-by-Step

1. Submit a Fresh Report

yarn start report w by-vault-submit -v <vault_address>

2. Verify Validators on Beacon Chain

Check validator status before consolidating:

# Check source validator
yarn start pdg-helpers validator-info 0x<source_pubkey>

# Check target validator
yarn start pdg-helpers validator-info 0x<target_pubkey>

Both must be in active_ongoing status. Inactive validators are automatically filtered out with a warning, but it's better to verify upfront.

3. Run Consolidation

Using a JSON file (recommended for multiple validators):

yarn start consolidation w consolidate <dashboard_address> \
  --file ./consolidation-config.json

Using command-line arguments (single pair):

yarn start consolidation w consolidate <dashboard_address> \
  --source "0x<source_pubkey>" \
  --target "0x<target_pubkey>"

Multiple source groups via CLI:

yarn start consolidation w consolidate <dashboard_address> \
  --source "0xaaa... 0xbbb...,0xccc... 0xddd..." \
  --target "0xeee...,0xfff..."

Each comma-separated group of source pubkeys maps to the corresponding target pubkey.

4. Review and Confirm

The CLI displays a table with all source and target validators before executing. Review carefully:

• Verify all pubkey pairs are correct
• Check the fee exemption amount to be set
• Confirm no unintended validators are included

The fee exemption is a per-batch delta on the contract side (addFeeExemption increases settledGrowth by the given amount), so it is added for every consolidation batch. The node-operator fee is based on vault growth above settledGrowth, so without the exemption the consolidated balance stays in the fee base once the consolidation is processed and reported.

The only reason to skip is a retry: if the exemption for this exact batch was already submitted in a previous run. The CLI detects this automatically — when a recent on-chain fee exemption with the same amount exists, it shows the transaction hash and asks whether that transaction covered this same batch. Otherwise the exemption is added without extra prompts.

5. Monitor on Beacon Chain

After submission, consolidation is processed at the consensus layer. Track progress via a Beacon Chain explorer or:

yarn start pdg-helpers validator-info 0x<target_pubkey>

Batch Mode (Gas-Efficient)

Use --batch to bundle all consolidation requests and the fee exemption into a single multicall transaction. Requires --wallet-connect.

yarn start consolidation w consolidate <dashboard_address> \
  --file ./consolidation-config.json \
  --batch \
  --wallet-connect

Without --batch, each consolidation request and the fee exemption are sent as separate transactions (more flexible but less gas-efficient).

Error Reference

Error	Cause	Solution
Missing NODE_OPERATOR_FEE_EXEMPT_ROLE	Account lacks required role	Contact vault admin to grant the role
Report not fresh	Oracle data is stale	Run report w by-vault-submit first
Invalid pubkey format	Pubkey is not 48-byte hex	Verify pubkey format (must be 0x + 96 hex chars)
Mismatched array lengths	--source and --target counts differ	Ensure equal number of source groups and targets
Batch without WalletConnect	--batch used without --wallet-connect	Add --wallet-connect flag
Inactive validators	Source validator is not active	Inactive validators are auto-filtered; check validator status
Invalid withdrawal credentials	Target validator WC not pointing to vault	Target must use 0x02-type WC pointing to StakingVault

Related Commands

• Commands reference: Consolidation Commands
• Check validator info: yarn start pdg-helpers validator-info <pubkey>
• Submit report: yarn start report w by-vault-submit
• Check roles: yarn start vo r roles