Table of Contents
- Introduction
- The Need for Decentralized Validator Architecture
- Proposer-Builder Separation (PBS) for Fair Block Production
- Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) and Resilient Uptime
- Mitigating Power Asymmetry with MEV Smoothing
- ZENMEV’s AI-Driven Infrastructure and Transparency
- Conclusion: Toward Fairness and Decentralization
Introduction
In Ethereum and other Proof-of-Stake networks, validator decentralization has become vital for preserving blockchain security and fairness. If too much power concentrates in a few validators or block producers, it can undermine network resilience and user trust. This concern is especially acute in the context of Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) the profit from optimizing transaction ordering. The way MEV is captured and distributed can either exacerbate centralization or promote a fairer ecosystem. ZENMEV, a research-driven MEV platform, is tackling these challenges head-on by building a validator infrastructure that prioritizes decentralization and user protection. This article explores how ZENMEV leverages cutting-edge mechanisms like Proposer-Builder Separation (PBS) and Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) to mitigate centralization risks while enhancing MEV fairness and transparency for users.
The Need for Decentralized Validator Architecture
Decentralization of validators means no single entity or small cartel can dominate block creation or extract disproportionate MEV at the expense of others. Without countermeasures, wealthy or sophisticated operators can gain outsized influence. For example, after Ethereum’s merge to Proof-of-Stake, most validators started outsourcing block building to specialized MEV builders via the MEV-Boost system. This proto-PBS approach was meant to democratize MEV opportunities, yet in practice a handful of builders ended up constructing the majority of blocks. By late 2023, roughly 90% of Ethereum blocks were being sourced through MEV-Boost auctions, with three top builders accounting for ~80% of all blocks. Such concentration is concerning – it creates points of failure and potential censorship or collusion risk. Ethereum’s roadmap even introduced an entire development phase called The Scourge to address MEV-induced centralization.
From the user perspective, centralization can undermine fairness. If only a few validators or pools capture most MEV, regular stakers and users get left with crumbs while bearing the downsides (like being frontrun or paying higher slippage). It is imperative to push network architecture toward decentralization so that the ability to earn rewards (including MEV) is spread broadly, not concentrated among insiders. ZENMEV recognizes this imperative. As a validator infrastructure provider, ZENMEV designs its platform to maximize MEV returns in a fair, decentralized way for its participants. In the following sections, we examine how PBS and DVT two key innovations – contribute to that goal, along with ZENMEV’s unique strategies like MEV redistribution and AI-driven user protection.
Proposer-Builder Separation (PBS) for Fair Block Production
Proposer-Builder Separation (PBS) is a design that splits the block production role into two parts: block proposers (the validators who formally add new blocks) and block builders (specialized actors who craft the optimal block contents). In traditional block production, a validator does both tasks gathering transactions and ordering them to maximize fees and arbitrage gains. This favors those with sophisticated MEV algorithms and infrastructure, creating a high barrier to entry for small or hobbyist validators. PBS was introduced to level this playing field. Under PBS, a validator doesn’t need to find MEV opportunities itself; it simply picks the most profitable block from competing builders, who bid for the right to have their block proposed. The winning builder’s bid (which includes extracted MEV profit) goes to the validator as a reward. In theory, this allows even a small home validator to earn similar MEV rewards as a large staking provider, since both can tap into the same pool of professional builders’ blocks. By minimizing the specialized computing and expertise needed to capture MEV, PBS lowers the barrier to participation and “prevents hobbyist validators from being out-competed by institutional players”.
Ethereum implemented PBS in a preliminary form via the MEV-Boost relay system. Validators opt-in to run the MEV-Boost software, which connects to reputable relays that aggregate blocks from many builders. The validator’s consensus client then proposes whichever block from the relay offers the highest fee payoff. This design has been remarkably successful in increasing validator revenues – as of early 2025, a majority of Ethereum validators use MEV-Boost to outsource block building. However, the concentration of builders and relays remains an area of active concern. Researchers have observed significant centralization among builders and relay operators in the current MEV landscape. The community is now pushing for decentralized block-builder networks and eventually enshrined PBS at the protocol level (making it a permanent, built-in feature rather than an optional add-on). These future improvements aim to ensure that no single builder or relay can become a choke point, and that block auctions remain competitive and open.
ZENMEV’s approach to PBS: As part of its validator strategy, ZENMEV fully embraces PBS to enhance fairness for its stakers. All of ZENMEV’s Ethereum validators leverage MEV-Boost relays to obtain professionally built blocks, ensuring they capture maximal MEV rewards on behalf of users. Importantly, ZENMEV supports diversity in block sources – using multiple relays and encouraging emerging decentralized builder networks – so that it isn’t reliant on any one MEV relay or builder. This aligns with ZENMEV’s ethos of open infrastructure and equitable MEV distribution. In addition, ZENMEV operates its own private transaction relay and fair ordering system. This allows user transactions sent through ZENMEV to be protected from public mempool manipulation while still integrating with PBS. By routing transactions via a private relay and then to builders, ZENMEV can prevent malicious frontrunning and ensure that the MEV extracted from user order flow benefits the user and the community rather than outside arbitrage bots. This combination of PBS with user-centric relays helps achieve a more transparent and user-aligned block production process validators get competitive MEV revenue, and users gain assurance that blocks are being built in their interest, not against it.
Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) and Resilient Uptime
While PBS tackles who builds blocks, Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) tackles who runs the validators. DVT is an innovation that allows a single Ethereum validator to be operated by a cluster of independent nodes rather than a single machine or operator. It works by splitting a validator’s private key into multiple key shares (using cryptographic techniques like Shamir’s Secret Sharing) and distributing those shares to different nodes or operators. No single node has the full key, so they must cooperate (usually a threshold of them signing) to produce a valid signature for attestations and proposals. In effect, a “distributed validator” behaves like one validator to the blockchain, but under the hood it’s run by a team of operators, adding fault tolerance and decentralization of control. If some nodes in the cluster go offline or malfunction, the others can still keep the validator running, preventing downtime. Likewise, if one operator is compromised or acts maliciously, they alone cannot sign on behalf of the validator – the others would outvote or outlast them, greatly reducing the risk of catastrophic slashing events. DVT thus eliminates single points of failure in validator operations and allows even large-stake validators to remain resilient and secure through geographic and organizational diversity.
Crucially, DVT can also be a decentralization booster in the era of large staking providers and pooled validators. Ethereum’s upcoming upgrades (like EIP-7251, which raises the max effective balance per validator) mean that big operators will consolidate more stake into fewer validator instances for efficiency. Without DVT, those mega-validators would each be controlled by one entity, potentially concentrating power. But with DVT, “a single high-balance validator can be run collectively by multiple independent operators, each holding a share of the key”, so that even if the stake is large, control is not in one person’s hands. This opens the door for many smaller stakers or operators to jointly run large validators without any one party dominating. In other words, DVT can turn consolidation into a decentralization win: it blends small participants into one big validator “without handing control to any single party”. Ethereum core developers see this as a key mitigation to keep staking pools and institutions from undermining the spirit of decentralization. By spreading out responsibility and trust, DVT helps maintain an inclusive validator set where uptime is maximized but power asymmetry is minimized.
ZENMEV’s use of DVT and uptime guarantees: ZENMEV has been an early adopter and supporter of DVT to strengthen its validator infrastructure. Operating a fleet of validators on behalf of its stakers, ZENMEV prioritizes extremely high uptime and safety. Every percentage point of downtime means missed attestations or proposals, directly hurting user rewards. To address this, ZENMEV is actively integrating DVT into its operations so that each validator is run as a redundant cluster of nodes across multiple locations and operators. Even as ZENMEV consolidates some validators for efficiency (using Ethereum’s new compounding feature), it plans to distribute those validators across data centers and independent signers “once DVT support matures”. In practice, ZENMEV treats its validators as high-value assets that get extra redundancy: multiple beacon node instances, backup signer processes, and diverse client software running in parallel. This architecture has already yielded industry-leading performance ZENMEV’s missed block and attestation rates are well below industry average, and with DVT clustering they expect to push missed duties “even closer to zero”, effectively guaranteeing near-perfect uptime. For users staking with ZENMEV, this means strong reliability: their stake is less likely to suffer from slashing or downtime penalties, and it consistently earns the maximum rewards possible thanks to the robust setup. By adopting DVT, ZENMEV also ensures that control of its validator operations is not overly centralized within the company. Different nodes in a distributed validator cluster can be run in collaboration with partners or community operators. This approach epitomizes security through decentralization – even ZENMEV’s own infrastructure is designed to avoid central points of failure. The end result is a validator architecture that is resilient, secure, and trust-minimized, directly reinforcing the decentralization of the network.
Diagram: Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) splits a single validator key into multiple “key shares” run on different nodes, improving fault tolerance and decentralization.
Mitigating Power Asymmetry with MEV Smoothing
A critical aspect of MEV fairness is how the rewards are shared among participants. Left to pure chance, validators can have very uneven MEV income – one might land a highly profitable arbitrage in its block, while another goes many epochs earning only small fees. This variance disproportionately benefits large operators who run many validators (their returns average out) and can frustrate small stakers who might go unlucky for long periods. To address this, many in the community advocate MEV smoothing. MEV smoothing means pooling or redistributing the MEV revenue so that it is shared more evenly rather than jackpot-style. For instance, staking pools or validator collectives can agree to aggregate all MEV earned and then split it pro-rata among members. By “pooling MEV and distributing it evenly to reduce variance”, smoothing makes rewards more predictable and fair for everyone. It also removes the incentive for validators to engage in self-serving behavior to chase MEV, since any big score would be shared with others anyway. Several Ethereum staking services and research proposals have explored implementing MEV smoothing at various levels (pool level or even protocol level). The overarching goal is to prevent a scenario where “a few insiders accumulate disproportionate profits” from MEV while others get very little. Fair distribution is not just altruism; it is recognized as essential for network health and long-term sustainability. If small stakers consistently feel shortchanged, they may exit or centralize into large pools, which is exactly the outcome to avoid. Smoothing helps keep the playing field level by ensuring all validators benefit from the MEV generated in the system, not just the lucky or connected ones.
ZENMEV’s MEV redistribution pool: ZENMEV has built MEV smoothing directly into its platform’s economics. All MEV and priority fees earned by ZENMEV-operated validators go into a collective pool and are redistributed fairly among all participant stakers. This means that if any one validator (operated by ZENMEV) hits a “jackpot” by including a very profitable MEV opportunity on a given day, all users staking with ZENMEV share in that windfall according to their stake. No single validator’s delegators get an outsized reward at the expense of others. Conversely, if one validator had an unlucky stretch with little MEV, its stakers are cushioned by receiving shares from the overall pool. ZENMEV’s system essentially implements a smoothing lottery at scale – the law of large numbers ensures every staker sees the average MEV yield over time, with much lower variance. This approach has immediate user protection benefits: it guards users from the “feast or famine” nature of MEV and guarantees that joining ZENMEV yields is not a gamble but a steady strategy. Importantly, ZENMEV updated its redistribution logic to accommodate the new dynamic validator balances introduced by EIP-7251, weighting shares by each validator’s effective stake. Whether a validator has 32 ETH or 1024 ETH effective, the MEV it earns is attributed in proportion to the stake behind it, then socialized across everyone’s zTokens (ZENMEV’s staking tokens). In practical terms, nothing changes for the end user – they continue to receive their fair proportional share of all MEV that ZENMEV captures. By smoothing out returns in this manner, ZENMEV not only increases user confidence and satisfaction, but also upholds decentralization. Smaller stakers can comfortably participate knowing they will get equitable outcomes, which encourages broader participation and reduces the pressure to aggregate into mega-pools for consistent yields. ZENMEV’s MEV smoothing is thus a direct measure to reduce power asymmetry and align the interests of validators with the wider user base.
ZENMEV’s AI-Driven Infrastructure and Transparency
Beyond PBS, DVT, and smoothing, ZENMEV has invested in a robust user protection architecture that distinguishes its platform. A cornerstone is ZENMEV’s AI-driven smart contract and execution infrastructure. Branded internally as the Zenbots engine and Zenbots Shield, these systems use advanced machine learning to monitor blockchain activity in real time. The AI defense layer continuously scans mempool transactions and network conditions to preempt MEV attacks like front-running and sandwiching. When a user transaction goes through ZENMEV, the system can detect patterns that indicate a pending attack – for example, a sudden spike in gas bidding that suggests a bot trying to outrun the user’s trade. ZENMEV then takes countermeasures, such as rerouting the transaction via private relays or inserting transactions that negate the attack, all before the malicious bot can execute. This proactive stance essentially shields users from the “invisible tax” of MEV that many DeFi users unknowingly pay. With Zenbots Shield, ZENMEV goes further than typical MEV protection services: it not only blocks the attacks but captures the value for the user’s benefit in an ethical manner. For example, if there is an arbitrage opportunity in the user’s transaction flow, ZENMEV’s infrastructure will attempt to realize it internally so that the profit is redistributed to ZENMEV stakers (including the user) instead of letting an outside bot extract it. This dual focus on security and profit maximization creates a fairer playing field where even smaller traders and stakers can thrive without being edged out by predatory MEV bots. The AI-driven smart contracts coordinate all these actions automatically, making complex decisions in milliseconds. By leveraging AI for both opportunity detection and threat mitigation, ZENMEV’s architecture exemplifies a modern, intelligent validator stack that serves the user first.
Equally important is ZENMEV’s commitment to public on-chain analytics and transparency. In a domain often criticized for opacity, ZENMEV provides clarity. The platform offers analytical dashboards and real-time data so that participants can see how MEV profits are generated and distributed. Key metrics like total value staked, recent arbitrages captured, and yield performance are published for the community. ZENMEV goes so far as to publish quarterly State of the Pool reports detailing the platform’s health, including total staked assets, major MEV gains achieved for the pool, and any fee or policy changes. All smart contracts governing ZENMEV’s staking and distribution are audited and made interoperable for scrutiny. This level of transparency instills confidence that the system is behaving as intended there are no hidden fees or shadowy MEV siphoning. Users can verify that MEV extraction is being done ethically and that rewards are indeed flowing back to them. ZENMEV’s public documentation and research articles (such as this very analysis) are part of that transparent approach, shedding light on MEV dynamics and the rationale behind their architecture. In essence, ZENMEV aligns its incentives with users: uptime guarantees, protection from MEV attacks, fair sharing of profits, and open reporting all reinforce that the platform’s success is shared with its community. This user-centric model addresses the core architectural goals we set out: mitigating centralization risks (through PBS, DVT, decentralizing control) and enhancing fairness and transparency (through smoothing, AI safeguards, and open analytics). It stands as a blueprint for how validator services can evolve in the MEV era by using technology and governance to put users and decentralization first.
Conclusion: Toward Fairness and Decentralization
Validator decentralization and user protection are no longer abstract ideals; they are becoming concrete features of next-generation blockchain infrastructure. ZENMEV’s platform demonstrates how combining PBS, DVT, MEV smoothing, and AI-driven fairness mechanisms can significantly reduce power asymmetries in a Proof-of-Stake network. By separating block proposal from block building, PBS ensures even the smallest validators can benefit from maximal MEV without needing exclusive skills or resources. By distributing validator operation among multiple operators, DVT ensures that no validator not even one managing thousands of ETH becomes a single point of failure or control. Layered on top is the philosophy of sharing: from smoothing MEV across all stakers
to capturing MEV value in ways that reward users instead of exploiting them. The result is an architecture in which decentralization is reinforced at every level: technical, economic, and ethical.
ZENMEV’s validator infrastructure strategy is a response to the very real risks of centralization in the post-Merge landscape. Rather than a generic overview, this has been a ZENMEV-driven analysis of tackling those risks. The choices made by ZENMEV using private relays to combat toxic MEV, employing AI to guard users, adopting new Ethereum upgrades rapidly, and maintaining transparency – all serve to align the platform with the long-term health of the ecosystem. By proactively embracing innovations like in-protocol PBS (when it arrives) and community-driven distributed validation, ZENMEV shows that profitability doesn’t have to come at the cost of decentralization or user trust. In fact, with the right architecture, profitability and fairness can reinforce each other: a more decentralized validator set leads to a more robust network, which in turn sustains the opportunities for everyone to earn.
In conclusion, ZENMEV is helping chart a future where MEV is not a zero-sum game dominated by a few, but a shared value stream that bolsters the entire community. The validator decentralization and user protection architecture described here is central to that vision. As the Ethereum community continues to refine PBS, DVT, and other mechanisms, ZENMEV will remain at the forefront, turning research into action. The platform’s AI-driven smart contracts, public analytics, validator uptime guarantees, and MEV smoothing protocols are direct enablers of a fairer system. This is how ZENMEV safeguards decentralization: by designing infrastructure that empowers the many instead of the few.
For readers interested in further details or joining this effort, please refer to ZENMEV’s official website and documentation for more information. By collaborating across the ecosystem – validators, researchers, and users alike we can ensure that the growing influence of MEV strengthens rather than undermines the principles of decentralization and user alignment that underpin blockchain technology.
About ZenMEV
ZenMEV is a research-driven effort to create fairer MEV extraction and revenue sharing frameworks for the decentralized economy. The team focuses on infrastructure building, cross-chain synergy, and transparent profit redistribution, aiming to make MEV a benefit for the broader DeFi community rather than a hidden cost.
- Website: zenmev.com
- Documentation: docs.zenmev.com
- Twitter (X): x.com/zenmev
We invite validators, traders, stakers, and ecosystem contributors to join us in rethinking how MEV can power DeFi without undermining user trust and network resilience.
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