Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a new approach to simplify Ethereum staking by integrating Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) directly into the network's protocol. This initiative aims to improve security, enhance decentralization, and streamline the staking process, particularly for those holding significant amounts of ETH.
DVT enables validators to operate across multiple machines rather than being limited to a single node. In current DVT models, a validator's cryptographic key is divided among multiple nodes, which must collaborate to sign messages. As long as at least two-thirds of these nodes act honestly, the validator remains operational and avoids penalties like slashing or inactivity leaks.
Buterin's proposal, published on the Ethereum Research forum, suggests embedding this functionality within Ethereum's core protocol. By doing so, validators could operate as coordinated groups natively, eliminating the need for external coordination layers. According to the proposal, a validator with sufficient ETH could register up to 16 separate keys, each representing a "virtual identity". These identities would function as independent validators but would be recognized as a single entity by the protocol. Actions such as block proposals or attestations would only be accepted if a user-defined minimum number of these identities approve them.
Buterin highlights two primary advantages of this design. First, it would empower security-focused stakers—including large individual holders and institutions—to use a secure, multi-node setup without depending on centralized staking services. Second, it could enhance the decentralization of Ethereum's staking ecosystem by motivating major holders to manage their own infrastructure instead of delegating to dominant providers.
Buterin argues that protocol-level DVT could meaningfully simplify validator operations, especially for independent operators. Today, many users prefer centralized staking services and large providers because they handle technical complexity and uptime requirements. However, this concentration can harm ETH validator decentralization and increase systemic risk. By making validators more fault-tolerant and easier to manage across several machines or operators, the proposal aims to reduce validator failure rates and lower the perceived barrier to running a validator.
Unlike existing DVT implementations, which often rely on complex setups and external coordination layers, Buterin's proposal would bake the mechanism into the protocol itself. Validators holding at least multiples of the minimum required stake would be able to specify up to 16 keys and a threshold for signing, effectively running several standard nodes that act together as a single validator identity. The approach is designed to keep overhead low, according to the Ethereum co-founder.
The proposal follows growing real-world use of DVT at the infrastructure level. In August 2025, Kraken rolled out distributed validator technology across its Ethereum staking operations using SSV Network, becoming one of the first major exchanges to deploy the setup at scale. Buterin opined that while such systems have proven viable, they remain operationally complex — a gap he believes protocol-level support could close.
Buterin noted that DVT will reduce operational costs. The architecture will add only a slight delay in block generation, not affecting attestation speed and maintaining compatibility with any signature scheme. In the long term, it will also reduce dependency on cryptographic properties, whose potential vulnerabilities may increase over time.
From a user's perspective, this approach is extremely straightforward. Currently, this concept remains in the research phase and would require further community discussion before any potential adoption into Ethereum's protocol. Nonetheless, it demonstrates the ongoing efforts by Ethereum developers to make staking more robust, user-friendly, and decentralized—without increasing operational complexity.
