Staking too complicated? – The network Ethereum recently transitioned from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake. Therefore, network miners have been replaced by validator nodes. Unfortunately, the lack of triviality in creating a node annoys some users.
Ethereum and Proof of Stake
On September 15, the network Ethereum has witnessed a historic update. Indeed, Ethereum has definitely abandoned the Proof of Work for the benefit of the Proof of Stake. This transition was orchestrated by the update commonly referred to as The Merge.
Following this transition, the miners whose mission was to validate the blocks and secure the network were replaced by validator nodes. In practice, validators must operate two types of nodes to take part in the validation process:
- A node for the execution layerfor example through the use of the Geth client;
- A node for the consensus layerusing Prysm, Lighthouse or Teku clients to name but a few.
In addition, the validator must hold a balance of 32 ETH to participate. This balance is commonly referred to as ” stake“. This stake also allows the network to ensure that the validator does not perform malicious actions. Indeed, if the validator fails in its task, the network can sanction it via a mechanism called Slashing.
>> Would you like a $20 bonus in USDT? Register quickly on Bitget and make a first trade (trade link) <<
Staking on Ethereum: too complicated a maneuver
After the transition to Proof of Stake, many users decided to embark on the adventure of staking on Ethereum.
Unfortunately, many of them encountered a major obstacle when they faced the complexity of the maneuver.
This is what a user recently reported on Reddit:
“The Ethereum community likes to water down ease of use, but it’s healthier to admit: it’s still not for everyone. »
Thus, our user explains that he had a lot of trouble setting up his validation node. In total, it took him a whole weekend to debug the obstacles he encountered.
“Yes, there are some helpful guides to get you started pretty easily, but you better pray to the Gods of staking that there aren’t any hiccups because then you end up naked in the desert. »
In addition, once the complexity of implementation has passed, users often face material and logistical requirements . Indeed, some users have pointed out the significant bandwidth required to operate a node. Bandwidth which can often be limited by access providers.
Other users point to the rapid deterioration of certain materials when used for an Ethereum node.
“My biggest concern is with the SSD. I broke 2 512GB SSDs just using the geth client for a few months. The amount of writing on SSDs is insane, even a 1TB SSD can’t last more than a year. »
Does ease rhythm with centralization?
Obviously, there are many technically more affordable solutions for the uninitiated.
Indeed, many centralized platforms such as Coinbase, Kraken or Binance offer staking services on Ethereum. Thus, users can deposit their ETH there and the service takes care of setting up and managing the node for a share of the rewards received.
Other services, for their part, offer decentralized alternatives through liquid staking. We can cite in particular RocketpoolWhere Lido . In this case, users also delegate their ETH, but remain in control of their funds.
Either way, these solutions lead to a centralization of the staking process. Indeed, the centralized exchanges represent31.4% of validator nodes of the network. For its part, the decentralized staking provider Lido represents 33.7% of the validating nodes.
This centralization could be at the origin of censorshipon the network. Indeed, it is not excluded that regulators put pressure on these service providers to censor certain transactions, for example those related to protocols such as Tornado Cash.
Such censorship phenomena have already been identified on Ethereum at other levels. Thus, a researcher discovered thatFlashBots’ mev-boost relays systematically censor transactions related to Tornado Cash.
Want good news? $20 in USDT awaits you on Bitget! To get this bonus, register quickly on the platform and make a trade. Limited-time offer, reserved for the first 1000 subscribers (commercial link, see conditions on the official website).