Vitalik: Independent stakers are the “first line of defense” and “last line of defense” of the Ethereum network

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin shared a summary of his recent fireside chat at the Home Staking Summit in Singapore on social media, discussing the actual value of independent stakers (including small businesses and community stakers) to the network, and what changes L1 can take to better support these stakers. Here are his core points: The dual role of independent stakers: Vitalik emphasized that independent stakers are both the "first line of defense" of the Ethereum network, providing anti-censorship capabilities, and the "last line of defense", protecting the network by blocking 67% of the final confirmation of the wrong chain. The importance of decentralization: Independent stakers are generally not associated with large organizations, which makes them difficult to be captured or coerced by regulation, thereby enhancing Ethereum's position as a trusted neutral block space. Network security considerations: Vitalik discussed the possibility of raising the consensus threshold (such as from 67% to 85%) to enhance network security. But he also pointed out that this may bring new challenges, such as reducing the cost of attacks that prevent final confirmation. Resource Allocation Optimization: He raised an interesting point that the current system may be over-paying to prevent a 33% frontal attack, suggesting reallocating resources to strengthen defenses against more severe attacks. Expanding the Independent Stakeholder Group: Vitalik stressed the importance of increasing the number of independent stakers, making it a key component of the current final confirmation threshold. Support at the L1 level: He also explored possible measures that the Ethereum base layer (L1) could take to better support and encourage independent staking.