Is Ethereum Facing a Centralization Crisis Because HODLers are "Too Lazy"? Vitalik Proposes a Solution at ETH Taipei
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin attended the "ETH Taipei 2024" event on March 21, where he discussed the potential centralization crisis that Ethereum's blockchain could face. The main cause, he explained, stems from holders being "too lazy to stake" after Ethereum implemented its Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism.
During his speech, Vitalik highlighted that the original goal of Ethereum's PoS system was to lower the barrier to maintaining nodes, thus enabling greater decentralization. However, with the surge in ETH prices, the top issue now is that the requirement to hold 32 ETH has become the largest barrier, leaving few people able to participate in "Solo Staking."
In response to this, platforms like Lido have emerged, allowing users to stake their ETH, no matter how much they hold, while enjoying staking rewards without needing to run a node. Though convenient, this has led to many holders—even those with more than 32 ETH—relying on liquidity staking platforms, concentrating ETH on a few platforms and potentially threatening the network’s security.
To address this, Vitalik proposed finding ways to incentivize these "lazy" stakers to return to Solo Staking. One idea he mentioned is the "Rainbow Staking" mechanism, which would change the current requirement for nodes to validate every block to avoid penalties (slashing). Instead, "light nodes" would be allowed to participate in validation occasionally, earning rewards without facing penalties. However, this solution is still under community discussion and requires further mechanism validation before implementation.
For now, Ethereum's compromise to this issue is to introduce more diverse liquidity staking platforms to mitigate the risks of concentration while enhancing on-chain liquidity.
This article is sourced from Blockcast:
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2024/9/23
