TechFlow news — On September 24, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin shared a summary on social media of his recent fireside chat at the Home Staking Summit in Singapore, discussing the real-world value of independent stakers (including small businesses and community stakers) to the network, as well as what changes Layer 1 (L1) could implement to better support these participants.
Vitalik emphasized that independent stakers serve as both the "first line of defense" for the Ethereum network by providing censorship resistance, and the "last line of defense" by preventing finalization of incorrect chains at the 67% threshold, thereby safeguarding the network. Because independent stakers are typically unaffiliated with large organizations, they are harder to regulate or coerce, reinforcing Ethereum's status as a trust-minimized, neutral source of blockspace.
Vitalik discussed the possibility of increasing the required validator threshold (e.g., from 67% to 85%) to enhance network security. However, he also noted this could introduce new challenges, such as lowering the cost of attacks that prevent finality. Additionally, Ethereum’s current security strategy may need reevaluation. Presently, 33% of staked ETH represents the highest attack cost for hijacking the blockchain. Yet this setup suggests excessive resources may be spent defending against attacks above 33%, and he suggested reallocating focus toward strengthening defenses against attacks involving "more than 66%".
Vitalik also highlighted the importance of increasing the number of independent stakers so they become a critical component of the current finality threshold, and explored potential measures at the Ethereum base layer (L1) to better support and incentivize independent staking.
