RPIP-77 is a Rocket Pool protocol proposal to make Smart Node set minipools to use the latest protocol-approved delegate by default and to remove supported Smart Node paths for selecting older delegate implementations. In plain terms, it is about making delegate upgrades the normal default for Smart Node-managed minipools so governance-approved changes can apply more consistently across the protocol.
The core change
The proposal focuses on minipool delegate behavior. Rocket Pool minipools use a proxy-style architecture, where much of their live behavior is controlled by a delegate contract rather than being permanently fixed in the minipool contract itself.
RPIP-77 says that a future Smart Node release should check whether a minipool is finalized and whether it is set to use the latest delegate. If it is not finalized and not already using the latest delegate, Smart Node should attempt to turn that setting on.
Why the proposal was made
The proposal's motivation is largely about protocol consistency and enforceability. RPIP-77 argues that too many minipools remain on older delegate behavior because the existing default does not push them onto the latest approved delegate version.
According to the proposal, that makes it harder for Rocket Pool governance to apply approved logic uniformly across minipools, especially when the protocol wants to address underperforming validators, rETH yield drag, or future Saturn-era changes.
- The proposal frames underperforming minipools as a direct cost to rETH yield and demand.
- It argues that optional delegate upgrades create a governance and enforcement gap.
- It presents default latest-delegate behavior as a prerequisite for future protocol tools rather than a complete solution by itself.
What it does and does not do
RPIP-77 is narrower than it first sounds. It does not itself implement forced exits, and it does not instantly rewrite every minipool on the network. Its scope is tied to Smart Node behavior after a relevant update.
The proposal also says it does not eliminate the technical possibility of using older delegates at the contract level. Instead, it removes the normal Smart Node-supported way of managing older delegate selections and makes latest-delegate behavior the default path.
- It applies after upgrading to the relevant Smart Node version.
- It does not retroactively change untouched older Smart Node installations.
- It does not grant new emergency powers on its own.
- It is framed as an enabling step for future governance-approved mechanisms.
Why it became a philosophical governance question
RPIP-77 is not just a software-default change. It touches an older Rocket Pool norm that node operators could deliberately avoid future delegate changes and stay on a long-lived implementation if they wanted to.
The proposal explicitly revisits that older assumption and argues that Rocket Pool now needs stronger protocol-wide consistency. That is why the debate around RPIP-77 often centers on governance power, operator autonomy, and how much trust the protocol should place in future approved upgrades.