Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has suggested the fundamental alteration to the staking system in the network to eliminate the dependency on one validator node. In a detailed post published Wednesday on the Ethereum Research forum, Buterin introduced the idea of “native distributed validator technology,” or native DVT. Source: ethresear.ch The idea would allow stakers to split validator responsibilities across multiple nodes directly at the protocol level rather than relying on complex external setups. Ethereum’s Staking Boom Brings New Security Questions The proposal comes as Ethereum staking reaches record scale with more than 36 million ETH now staked across nearly one million validators, with the total value of staked assets exceeding $118 billion. Source: ValidatorQueue . While this growth has reinforced Ethereum’s security, it has also amplified long-standing concerns around centralization, operational risk, and the technical barriers faced by solo stakers. For much of Ethereum’s proof-of-stake history , running a validator meant placing 32 ETH behind a single machine and a single private key. Any failure, from a power outage to a software bug or security breach, could result in inactivity penalties or slashing. These risks pushed many users toward large staking providers and liquid staking platforms, concentrating control of consensus among a relatively small group of operators and cloud providers. Buterin’s proposal directly targets that single-node risk, as under the proposed native DVT, a validator with a larger balance would be allowed to register multiple keys, up to a maximum of 16, and define a threshold for signing duties. Validator actions, such as block proposals or attestations, would only be considered valid if a minimum number of those keys signed off together. As long as more than two-thirds of the nodes behave honestly, the validator would continue operating normally without penalties. Buterin’s Native DVT Idea Targets Easier, Safer ETH Staking Unlike existing DVT solutions such as Obol or ssv.network, which rely on external tooling, networking layers, and the linear properties of BLS signatures, Buterin’s design would be embedded directly into Ethereum’s consensus rules. He argued this would dramatically simplify staking operations, reduce setup complexity, and remove dependencies that may not be compatible with future cryptographic upgrades . @VitalikButerin unveils "The Splurge," a bold plan to prepare Ethereum for a quantum future! #Ethereum #QuantumComputing https://t.co/vvRijeahpS — Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) October 29, 2024 From a user perspective, Buterin described the experience as running multiple standard validator nodes with minimal configuration changes. Most of the added complexity would be limited to block production, where one node would act as a temporary leader and others would co-sign its output. The proposal is explicitly aimed at medium- to large-sized ETH holders , including institutions and individual “whales,” who currently face a choice between running fragile single-node setups or outsourcing control to staking providers. By making multi-node staking simpler, Buterin said native DVT could increase client diversity, improve measurable decentralization metrics, and encourage more self-custodial staking. Ethereum Developers Debate Practical Challenges of the DVT model The discussion quickly drew technical feedback from the community. Ethereum developer Alonmuroch raised questions around coordination during block production, the possibility of multiple proposers racing to collect signatures, and the need for protocol-level key rotation to handle compromised keys without forcing validators to exit and re-stake. Buterin largely agreed, noting that instant key changes should be feasible and that reducing operational headaches is central to the proposal’s motivation. The proposal also fits into a broader shift in Buterin’s recent public messaging. Earlier this month, he declared 2026 the year Ethereum would reclaim lost ground on self-sovereignty and trustlessness, calling for fewer compromises in favor of convenience. Days later, he warned that Ethereum risks becoming an “unwieldy mess” if developers continue layering complexity onto the protocol without deliberate simplification. The post Vitalik Buterin Proposes Fix to Ethereum Staking — No More Single-Node Risk appeared first on Cryptonews .
