Size change for validators. The network Ethereum finalized its transition from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake last September. Subsequently, the network opened ETH withdrawals in staking on April 12. Now the developers are planning to change some parameters of the staking process.
Big change for Ethereum stakers
June 6, Michael Neuder, a researcher for the Ethereum Foundation, has published an evolution proposal for the network. In practice, this proposal is the result of the work of several developers and researchers. Michael Neuder surrounded himself with Francesco d’Amato, Aditya Asgaonkar and Justin Drake.
This aims to increase the balance cap for validators from 32 ether to 2,048 ETH.
According to Michael Neuder, the current cap on validators certainly promotes decentralization, but it leads to an increase in the size of the set of validators. Indeed, the network currently has 700,000 active validators and 90,000 awaiting activation.
Therefore, the increase in the ceiling could curb the growth of the number of nodes validators. It would also improve network efficiency and achieve finality in a single Ethereum slot.
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Auto-compound for staking rewards
This proposal also provides for the addition of an “autocompose” feature to staking rewards.
Rewards that are currently above the 32ETH must be removed. To generate a staking yield, they must then be added to a new node.
These rewards could be used soon if the cap were to be raised. Therefore, this would allow for a more gradual process where users would not need to wait to have 32ETH additional to see their performance increase.
Until now, a validator with 96 ETH had to work with three validator nodes. If the proposal were to be approved, it would be possible to operate a single node, which would hold all 96 ETH and which would be rewarded proportionally.
A tailor-made solution for staking services on Ethereum
The proposal claims address the operational concerns of large-scale node operators. For example, centralized staking services like Coinbase.
Currently, they manage tens of thousands of validators, due to the current cap of 32 ETH per validator node. Increasing the effective validator cap would allow these operators to handle fewer validators, but with higher stakes, potentially reducing complexity.
However, Neuder warned of associated risks, including potentially higher penalties for accidental double attestations or submissions, commonly known as “slashings.”
For the moment, the community seems cautious about this proposal. This is now the subject of debate on the official forum.
At the same time, the network continues to evolve. So, Vitalik Buterin recently presented the 3 major axes of evolution, which will make Ethereum a mature technology.
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