Vitalik's blog post: Changes in protocols and staking pools can improve decentralization and reduce consensus overhead
ChainCatcher message, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published a blog post stating that the current state of Ethereum can be described as encompassing a significant portion of emerging double-layer staking. There are two types of participants in double-layer staking: node operators and delegators.
However, these two types of staking have two main drawbacks: the centralization risk of node operators and the lack of consensus layer burden. Vitalik believes that these issues can be addressed by expanding representative choice and increasing consensus participation. If done well, adjusting the staking design can solve the problems:
- Provide opportunities for those who do not have the resources or capability to stake individually today, thereby empowering them.
- Reduce the number of signatures that the Ethereum consensus layer needs to handle in each time slot to a smaller number, such as around 10,000.
For solutions like this, there are different layers of abstraction, and solutions to the problems can exist within these layers of abstraction: the powers granted to users in staking pool protocols, user choices between staking pool protocols, and regulations within the protocols. This choice should be carefully considered to minimize feasible regulations, reduce the complexity of the protocols and the degree of change in protocol economics, while still achieving the intended goals, which is often the best approach.
