- The crypto space is full of buzzwords and abbreviations, and today, we’ll be discussing one that’s not quite so widespread yet: Decentralized Validator Technology, or DVT.
- Validators are the entities that build blocks in Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchains, similar to miners in Bitcoin (and other Proof-of-Work (PoW) protocols).
- Ever since Ethereum moved entirely to PoS in September 2022 with The Merge, the blockchain has been supported by a set of approximately 900,000 validators, which theoretically makes it the most decentralized PoS network currently live.
Decentralized Validator Technology (DVT) promises to significantly decentralize and secure the process of Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain, addressing concerns about traditional validator setups.
Ethereum Validators Aren’t Like the Rest
A big difference between Ethereum and other PoS networks is that the validator nodes need to have a stake of 32 ETH — no more, no less. This limit was chosen so that it’d offer a reasonable entry point for average Joes to stake while still not creating too many validators for no reason. Right now, 32 ETH is worth about $95,000, but back when staking was first introduced (first as a separate chain) in 2020, it was closer to $30,000.
The Pressing Need to Decentralize Staking
The premise of Proof-of-Stake is that no single entity can control more than a certain percentage of the total stake that is currently engaged in validating a protocol. In Ethereum, currently, the vast majority of the staking power is held by Lido, a decentralized finance protocol that offers a convenient “wrapper” or liquid staking token (LST) of a user’s staked position called stETH. The benefit of this system is that you can just stake on the protocol or even buy the token and start staking to earn yield without doing anything else — the underlying system does everything for you.
Decentralized Validator Technology to the Rescue
If the issue is that validators are custodial and somewhat centralized, the logical solution is to turn this process into a decentralized and trustless mechanism. This is, in a nutshell, what DVT offers today.
Conclusion
DVT works by splitting an Ethereum validator’s private key into multiple shares via various cryptographic techniques. The shares are encrypted and distributed to node operators, who then simultaneously run the validator to contribute to Ethereum’s security. Because the actual validator key is never seen or controlled by the operators, the process becomes non-custodial, trustless, secure, and much more fault-tolerant.
