The Block13 minutes ago

Published on March 21, 2024 10:30 GMT+00:00edited on March 21, 2024 10:34 GMT+00:00

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated Thursday at ETH Taipei that a primary challenge for Ethereum’s proof-of-stake mechanism is potential centralization stemming from general staking activity.

Regarding staking, Buterin noted a group of “lazy stakers” possessing at least 32 ETH — the threshold to operate a validator — but choose staking pools and liquid staking tools over individual staking. He suggested that these stakers could have opted for “solo staking” to mitigate centralization risks.

“Even if solo staking becomes maximally easy,... lots of people are not going to stake,” Buterin remarked in the speech.

“We're already relying on social pressure and virtue and things other than economic incentives to solve our problems even as they exist today,” Buterin added. “We've done a …