Ethereum staking is at an inflection point. While institutional adoption is rapidly accelerating, significant challenges around decentralization, security and scalability continue to create barriers for broader reach.
Historically, Ethereum staking infrastructure has been dominated by a limited number of operators, creating single points of failure, increasing regulatory risk and constraining scalability. The ecosystem has been actively seeking solutions that deliver robust security, operational resilience and enhanced decentralization while not causing gaps in performance or regulatory compliance.
Distributed validator technology (DVT) offers a new approach to staking infrastructure. Championed by the Obol Collective, a decentralized operator ecosystem, distributed validators aim to address the critical challenges faced by institutional stakers and staking protocols.
What are distributed validators?
As the name implies, Obol’s DVT distributes validator responsibilities across multiple nodes operated by different entities and geographic locations. Instead of one machine and one key, each validator is secured by multiple independent operators, each holding only a fragment of the private key. This model removes single points of failure, greatly enhances security, ensures fault tolerance and significantly reduces slashing risks.
This enables a number of advantages over traditional methods, including:
No private keys stored onchain: Secure by design.
Native reward splitting without third parties or oracles: Direct, transparent payouts.
Plug-and-play middleware compatible with existing Ethereum clients: Easy integration for node operators.
Comparable or superior performance to traditional validators: Proven reliability in the field for higher performance and more rewards.
Solution at scale
Obol goes beyond being an Ethereum infrastructure project: It’s a movement to distribute, decentralize and democratize the backbone of Web3. With over 800 decentralized operators running Obol DVs to secure more than $1 billion of stake on the Ethereum mainnet, this ecosystem delivers stronger performance, less risk and greater decentralization than legacy validator technology.
As a founding member of both the Proof of Stake Alliance (POSA) and the Node Operator Risk Standard (NORS), Obol has a say in shaping the technology and the policy frameworks that will define institutional staking for years to come. Vitalik Buterin himself has referenced Obol as critical to Ethereum’s decentralization roadmap.
👀 @VitalikButerin just mentioned:
” With 32 ETH or less than 32 ETH…there are more and more interesting pool options that are appearing…like Obol’s Squad Staking”. 👏
📺 Watch Vitalik on @EFDevcon Mainstage now! https://t.co/jheM5Zf8QU pic.twitter.com/2fmfWv5Vjg
— Obol Collective (@Obol_Collective) November 12, 2024
Additionally, Obol recently introduced the OBOL token, which is designed to serve as a key coordination mechanism within its ecosystem. The token facilitates governance of the Obol Collective, funds retroactive public goods initiatives and acts as collateral within partner ecosystems, aligning incentives across stakeholders globally.
Rapid adoption by the industry players
Obol’s distributed validator technology has been adopted by key institutions across the Ethereum ecosystem, demonstrating real-world efficacy in addressing key staking challenges.
Bitcoin Suisse — Institutional-grade robustness
Switzerland-based crypto finance provider Bitcoin Suisse selected Obol DVs after a rigorous evaluation for one reason: institutional-grade robustness. The implementation significantly reduced downtime risks, bolstered key security and enhanced regulatory compliance, positioning Bitcoin Suisse to serve more demanding institutional clients confidently.
Lido — Democratizing liquid staking
Liquid staking protocol Lido’s dependency on a small set of professional operators raised decentralization concerns — until it integrated Obol via the Simple DVT module. With Obol, it expanded its operator set from 36 to over 200, onboarding solo stakers and community validators for the first time while improving performance and slashing resistance.
Looking ahead, Lido’s upcoming v3 vaults are designed with institutional adoption in mind, and vaults powered by Obol DVs are expected to offer stronger security guarantees and better reward profiles compared to non-DV alternatives.
EtherFi — Scaling securely
As EtherFi — an Ethereum-based non-custodial staking protocol — rapidly expanded from $100 million to over $5 billion in total value locked (TVL), Obol became instrumental in scaling its validator operations securely. Today, approximately 23% ($1.5 billion) of EtherFi’s TVL operates on Obol DVT, achieving validator performance scores surpassing industry giants such as Lido and Coinbase Cloud.
Quay Cove — Regulated ETH fund management
New Zealand-based regulated ETH fund, Quay Cove, adopted Obol DVT to offer accredited investors staking services. By using distributed validation and Obol Splits, the fund achieved institutional-grade fault tolerance, onchain transparency and regulatory clarity — all backed by insurance from Lloyd’s and managed by its staking arm, Everlasting.
StakeWise — Enhanced vault security
StakeWise, an Ethereum-based staking vault protocol with almost half a billion dollars staked, picked Obol’s distributed validators after extensive comparative analysis. Citing Obol’s superior performance, security and user experience, StakeWise is transitioning its Genesis Vault entirely to Obol, significantly improving risk profiles, uptime and returns for tens of thousands of users.
Swell — Advanced liquid restaking
Swell Network incorporated Obol DVT within its liquid restaking protocol to transition toward a multi-operator architecture. This reduces slashing risk, boosts validator responsiveness and positions Swell to offer higher returns to its users, while potentially unlocking new Obol ecosystem incentives. The partnership is part of Swell’s effort to modernize its entire staking stack.
The token that powers the ecosystem
Following a successful airdrop to solo stakers, Rocket Pool node operators and Obol contributors, the OBOL token is available for trading and staking. It is a central coordination mechanism for the Obol Collective, enabling community-driven governance, retroactive public goods funding, staking integrations with partner protocols and use as trusted collateral within DeFi ecosystems.
By design, OBOL facilitates transparent decision-making and strategic alignment across stakeholders, empowering community members to propose and influence the future direction of the Obol Collective. Developed by industry veterans integral to Ethereum’s early evolution, Obol’s decentralized governance ensures ongoing alignment with Ethereum’s broader decentralization roadmap.
With the forthcoming launch of the Obol Stack, the ecosystem is poised to extend its influence beyond validators, offering critical infrastructure for Ethereum’s next-gen decentralized applications.
As Ethereum enters its next era, institutions, protocols and power users alike are searching for infrastructure that’s secure, scalable and credibly decentralized. Obol is already the trusted backbone for industry leaders — from liquid staking giants to regulated funds — and it’s becoming the gold standard for anyone serious about Ethereum staking.
Learn more about Obol
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