Vitalik Buterin Highlights Importance Of Solo Staking For Ethereum Security

According to Cointelegraph, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin emphasized the significance of solo staking for the future security and decentralization of Ethereum during his speech at Ethereum Singapore 2024 on September 16. Buterin discussed the risks posed by centralized entities and the crucial role solo stakers play in safeguarding the network from attacks, ensuring its long-term resilience and sustainability. Solo stakers are individuals who independently stake their cryptocurrencies, such as Ether (ETH), without relying on third-party services, centralized entities, or staking pools. Buterin highlighted that solo stakers contribute to decentralization by presenting an uncoordinated and diverse group, reducing reliance on centralized entities. He stated, 'The stronger that we can have solo [...] I think there is a lot of ways in which that can serve as this really important extra layer of defense regarding security and privacy.' From Buterin’s perspective, even a small percentage of solo stakers can add a significant decentralized layer of protection for Ethereum. Buterin also addressed the role of solo stakers in defending against 51% attacks, where a malicious entity gains most of the blockchain’s computing power. He explained that in scenarios where a 51% attack threatens the network, the key difference lies in whether the attacker controls 50-56% or 57% and above. At 57% or above, the attacker can finalize blocks, potentially leading to a chain split if left unchecked and unchallenged. To combat this, Buterin suggested that Ethereum should consider raising the block finality threshold from two-thirds to a higher number, making attacks harder to accomplish. He proposed, 'One of the ideas that I’ve been promoting recently is the idea that [...] Ethereum should increase its quorum threshold from two-thirds to a higher number. Either three-quarters or possibly even more.' Additionally, Buterin recently expressed support on social media for Google’s automatic sign-in feature, sparking discussions about its implications. On September 4, he acknowledged the disadvantages of sign-in services as bridges to secure systems via account abstraction but asserted that it might be worth the risk. He suggested that servicing wallets be given 'a signing key' and an 'M-of-N guardian setup,' involving a security model to protect access to sensitive data or assets similar to a multisig.