In a surprising development within the Ethereum ecosystem, the blockchain has revealed its adoption of a significant portion of the emerging “two-tiered staking” model, which encompasses two distinct participant categories: Node operators and Delegators. Ethereum’s founder, Vitalik Buterin, addressed the community to discuss potential issues with this emerging staking approach and potential solutions.
While the inclusion of Node Operators in existing staking pools enables them to operate nodes, it raises concerns about decentralization. Additionally, the significant presence of liquid staking may result in increased burdens without commensurate benefits.
Expanding on the potential roles that Delegators could assume to significantly contribute to network decentralization and security, Buterin highlighted two key aspects: delegate selection and consensus participation. Delegators have the ability to choose the node operators for whom they delegate their stakes and can also serve as a mechanism for oversight on these operators.
Ethereum’s overarching goal is to provide opportunities for individuals who lack the resources or capability to stake actively participate in staking and consensus. The project also seeks to reduce the number of signatures processed by the Ethereum consensus layer, ultimately promoting a more decentralized ecosystem.
In related news, a recent report from JP Morgan exposed vulnerabilities in Ethereum’s growing Ether (ETH) staking. The report pointed out that Ethereum’s trend towards centralization is a concern, highlighting Lido, a decentralized liquid staking platform, as a preferable alternative to the centralized liquid staking platforms associated with centralized exchanges.