Run the majority client at your own peril!
AI summary of the linked articleThe article argues that running the majority Ethereum consensus client carries outsized risk, so responsible stakers should consider choosing a less popular client. It explains that Ethereum uses multiple clients for safety and liveness, and that anti-correlation penalties make correlated failures costlier. A slashing scenario from a client bug could cost stakers in the majority client all their funds, while a minority client's losses would typically be moderate, such as 1.5% of stake under the Altair parameters. A note added in 2025 says The Merge has since happened and client diversity has improved, while the author's analysis and incentive arguments remain valid. |
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1 comment  timSubmitter Reading this has made me bullish about ETH again. A few months back we had the discussion about how Lido‘s stETH is threatening Ethereum consensus and that Lido might un-decentralize the network. However, now knowing that staking your ETH on the majority client can mean losing it entirely in case of a consensus bug is amazing news. It means that staking ETH is totally not as risk-free as promoted before. And it creates also a bullish black swan event opportunity for those who hold non-staked ETH. Namely because the above article details a scenario where a third of the network‘s ETH is slashed until it is almost entirely gone. The connection to Lido here is that stETH holders don‘t control which clients they run and so they‘re taking on this risk in return for interest. Surely a source of anxiety for stakers, but having 1/3 of ETH destroyed at a 250M USD mcap, fantastic news for regular ETH holders. And the software would have performed as intended! Bullish. |
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