Last week, I prepared my research proposal, and this week I attended EthCC. I also presented my proposal at the EPF Day in Brussels. Attached are my research proposal and the presentation slide.

## Proposal Details:
### Title: Exploring Solutions to Liquid Staking Centralization in Ethereum: Mitigating Concerns Around Dominant Liquid Staking Pools

#### Abstract:
This research investigates solutions to mitigate centralization concerns arising from large liquid staking pools in Ethereum. The study will analyze the centralizing tendencies of liquid staking, evaluate the risks posed by major protocols like Lido and Rocket Pool, and explore decentralized liquid staking protocols as a potential solution. The goal is to propose a more decentralized and secure liquid staking system that ensures a diverse staking market and minimizes the risks of centralization.
#### The Problem:
- Stake Centralization Causes:
- Several protocols/pools and centralized exchanges stake their or investors' assets via the same validators.
- Single protocols with majority stakes spread across their own limited set of validators.
- Centralizing Mechanics of Liquid Staking:
- Users gravitate towards the largest liquid staking pools due to familiarity, liquidity, and application support.
#### Solution:
- Decentralized Liquid Staking Protocols:
- Distribute stake via different validators to prevent any single validator from becoming dominant.
- Diverse Staking Market:
- Encourage multiple providers, each with a relatively small market share, competing on a level playing field.
- Innovative Designs:
- Swell's Approach: Promotes a diverse market with multiple small providers.
- Dankrad's Design: Proposes a more efficient staking system for Ethereum.
- Enshrining Liquid Staking: Ideas to make decentralized liquid staking inherently safer.
#### Major Protocols and Their Risks:
- Lido: Uses a DAO to whitelist node operators, which can centralize control if dominated by a single staking token.
- Rocket Pool: Allows anyone to run a node with 8 ETH, risking potential 51% attacks and shifting costs to users.
#### Proposed Ideas:
- In-Protocol Functionality: Implement features to make liquid staking less centralizing.
- Tweak Constants: Adjust parameters like the maximum slashing penalty to reduce risks (e.g., bounding slashing penalty to 2 ETH).
- Two Layers of Restaking: Introduce mechanisms for validators to provide multiple staking keys, enhancing security and distribution.
#### Impact:
- Slot Committees and Subcommittees: Ensure that liquid staking protocols do not compromise the integrity and security of Ethereum’s consensus mechanisms.
- Sync Committees: Maintain continuous synchronization and finality of the blockchain despite the distribution of stakes.
This research proposal aims to develop practical solutions to mitigate the centralization risks of liquid staking in Ethereum, ensuring a more decentralized and secure network.

Link to the presentation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ex-s8t5LtX0EFexR3cLL6FBK7DRRr1Ys/view?usp=sharing