Why is distributed Validator Technology(DVT) relevant?

Before Ethereum 2.0, we witnessed single points of failure, especially in the staking processes.? DVT started gaining recognition around 2021 to enhance security and what I term true decentralisation: having independent validators the freedom to participate as a single validator without granting any particular operator/validator a single control over the validator's private keys. With unique cryptographic techniques such as multi-party computation (MPC), private key sharding, threshold signing, etc., it was very convenient to achieve the core experimental phase and operational model for the DVT outcome currently being utilised on a production scale.

Private Key Shardiing, or simply termed key splitting, is a simple technique of splitting the validator's private keys into several “shares” and then distributing those shares to each validator or participant, ensuring that no single entity has the entire key, drastically reducing the risk associated with theft or private key loss. The process is so unique that even while signing the transactions from all parties, their keys are not reconstructed into a single whole, with the help of a process or protocol termed multi-party computation (MPC), which allows the computation of cryptographic functions or signing of a block without revealing the original private keys. MPC basically ensures that all participants can actually work together in a trustless manner to validate a block and also ensure that their share (key) remains secret and protected. Threshold signatures entail the average number of participants needed to authorise a validation. Again, this also solved the issue of fault tolerance. Let's assume out of ten validators, if the threshold signing is 6, it simply means if the other 4 validators fail to comply, operations can still go on.?

There are several other core principles of DVT, such as decentralisation, non-custodial staking, prevention of slashing penalties, etc, but we won’t dwell on them today.

What brought about DVT?

Ethereum 2.0 uses a Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, where validation of blocks is handled by validators, and each validator is required to stake 32 ETH to participate in the validation process and have to run a node. With this, it puts forward a challenge of having to maintain Validators' uptime, handling poor performance, or even managing human factors such as refusal to do the needful. If a validator's keys are lost or stolen, it also poses a single point of failure, not to mention a monopoly that might be associated with large staking providers having control of large entities of staked ETH, gradually introducing centralisation to play.?

Some use cases of DVT

Validator Collectives: To lower the entrance barriers for Ethereum staking, groups of people or smaller node operators can band together to form distributed validators.

Sharded Blockchains: DVT can be used in sharded blockchains to divide validator duties among many shards. This promotes network security and decentralisation by guaranteeing that no single entity controls a shard.

Public Key Infrastructure (PKI): DVT can be used in public key infrastructure systems to assign or withdraw digital certificate signing and revocation authority. In PKI systems that are decentralised or consortium-based, where confidence is shared among several authorities, this might be helpful.

Multi-Signature Wallets: Distributed control over wallet activities, made possible by DVT, can improve multi-signature wallets that are already in use.?

Better Custodial Options: DVT can be used by custodial services that handle significant cryptocurrency holdings like exchanges, etc. to improve the security of their key management systems. With DVT, keys can be shared among several people for money custody as opposed to having a single point of failure.

Conclusion

Especially in the post-Ethereum 2.0 age, distributed validator technology is a critical advancement towards more secure and decentralised Ethereum or Ethereum Virtual Machines (EVM) networks. It lowers centralisation concerns and adds fault tolerance, improved security, and wider stakeholder involvement. DVT has the potential to greatly improve Ethereum staking's resilience and inclusivity as it develops and gains traction.