Last Updated on May 22, 2023 by Bitfinsider

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, expressed concern regarding the overcomplication of the Ethereum consensus mechanism beyond its original design, particularly with regard to re-staking.

In a new blog post, Buterin expressed skepticism regarding initiatives that could unduly introduce risks to the ecosystem and complicate the roles of Ethereum validators beyond their primary responsibility of verifying the core protocol rules. Buterin was concerned about re-staking, a mechanism being developed by Eigen Layer and others that expands the responsibilities of Ethereum validators to include the protection of external chains. He was concerned that re-staking might introduce dangers that could compromise the network’s security.

“We should proceed with caution when application-layer projects seek to expand the’scope’ of blockchain consensus beyond the validation of core Ethereum protocol rules,” Buterin wrote.

Buterin noted that although re-staking can be used for low-risk purposes, there are circumstances in which it could compromise the mainnet’s security, such as when Ethereum validators are subject to slashing on third-party chains. Slashing is a punishment for validators who indulge in undesirable activities, such as improperly maintaining their stake or processing transactions incorrectly.

“We should instead preserve the chain’s simplicity and support re-staking uses that do not appear to be slippery slopes toward expanding the role of Ethereum consensus,” Buterin suggested.