Background
There has been heated discussion in the Ethereum staking community regarding the possible risks that large staking solutions pose to the Ethereum network due to the size of stake that may flow through any one solution, and I wanted to collect my personal thoughts on this in one place. The point of this document is not to necessarily argue one way or another (although by the time you get through it I think my opinion will be clear), but to provide nuance and clarity on a topic that desperately requires it. The debate has now been put to discussion on Lido's forums, and I hope that this analysis will help inform people's opinions.
Ultimately I aim to repurpose this content into a series of more approachable and easily digestible articles, and I welcome comments, feedback, corrections, and suggestions in furtherance of this.
Disclaimer: I am a Lido contributor. Lido is a DAO and makes decisions collectively, and these opinions are my own and not official Lido positions, and it's possible/likely that some of my fellow contributors disagree with me on some of the below.
Originally published May 27, 2022.
The landscape of staking solutions