Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has proposed a major modification to the Ethereum network, which could drastically reduce the amount of ETH needed to be a validator. Currently, 32 ETH is required to participate as a staker in the network, but Buterin has floated the idea of ​​allowing validators to operate with just 1 ETH.

Faster block completion

In a recent blog post, Buterin mentioned that Ethereum takes approximately 15 minutes to finalize a block, and this is due to a design that sought to balance three main goals: maximizing the number of validators that can participate, minimizing block completion time and reduce the operational overhead of running a node on the network. However, the founder suggests that these parameters could be adjusted to improve network performance.

Buterin proposes two key improvements:

Reduce block completion time to a single interval, maintaining or even reducing the current 12 seconds, instead of the 15 minutes required today.
Allow validators to participate with only 1 ETH instead of the currently required 32 ETH.

Safety and efficiency benefits

The idea of ​​reducing the completion time to a single interval would have several benefits, according to Buterin. First, it would ensure that all Ethereum users benefit from a higher level of security almost instantly, as their transactions would be confirmed much faster. Currently, many users are not willing to wait 15 minutes for a transaction to be finalized, but with this update, the process would be more streamlined.

Additionally, the reduction in staking requirements would encourage decentralization by allowing more people to participate as validators. This would be especially beneficial for individual validators, also known as “stakers only,” who would benefit from the lower participation threshold.

Improvements for individual validators

Buterin's focus is on improving both network security and usability. The ability to reduce staking to just 1 ETH would make the process more accessible to individual users, thus supporting the decentralization of Ethereum. Currently, the barrier of 32 ETH (which is equivalent to tens of thousands of dollars) is too high for many, so this proposal could make the network more inclusive.

In summary, Vitalik Buterin's proposal seeks to make Ethereum more efficient and accessible, both in terms of block completion time and the amount of ETH required to participate in validation. If these changes are implemented, they could mark an important milestone in the evolution of the Ethereum network, benefiting both users and validators.