Dissecting Ethereum Staking at Scale: A Comprehensive Measurement and Analysis

Abstract

Decentralization is a critical security property for blockchain systems. Ethereum adopts a protocol design with multiple incentive mechanisms to encourage validators to contribute to decentralization. However, little empirical evidence exists on the actual effectiveness of Ethereum's incentive mechanism. In this paper, we collect and analyze data on validator rewards from Ethereum's consensus and execution layers, examining both the distribution of rewards and the degree of decentralization in the current network. Our findings show that Ethereum's reward allocation exhibits a relatively balanced distribution, with neither staking pools nor exchanges earning disproportionately higher returns simply due to their larger stake. These findings reveal the effectiveness of Ethereum's incentive design and the current state of decentralization, providing a foundation for future improvements in mechanism design and exploration.