A Protocol-Level Funding Mechanism A new proposal on Ethereum's research forum is asking validators to redirect a portion of their staking rewards toward shared ecosystem infrastructure and p
A new proposal on Ethereum's research forum is asking validators to redirect a portion of their staking rewards toward shared ecosystem infrastructure and public goods. Published on June 21, 2026, the proposal was authored by Clément Lesaege, founder of Kleros and Proof of Humanity, who argues for a protocol-level redirect allowing validators to divert up to 10% of their $ETH staking rewards to fund shared infrastructure.
If a majority of validators signal support for a nonzero redirect rate, the contribution would become mandatory for all validators, with funds distributed via a "splitter" contract based on validators' stated preferences.Validators would keep the ability to choose recipients and change allocations at any time within the 10% limit.The design is meant to let validators "set and forget" their preferences rather than vote on every grant.
At current staking levels, validators receive roughly 700,000 $ETH a year in rewards. A 5% to 10% redirect could send about 50,000 to 70,000 ETH a year toward ecosystem funding, equating to about $120 million at ether's current market prices.
The proposal frames itself as an answer to Ethereum's "free-rider" problem, in which many projects benefit from shared infrastructure, security work, research, tooling, and public goods, but no single actor wants to pay the full bill when everyone else can benefit for free. The result is chronic underfunding unless the Ethereum Foundation, donors, or a small group of motivated teams steps in.
Lesaege's proposal would move the decision to fund shared resources into validator hands and embed the mechanism at the protocol level, making future allocations subject to validator consensus rather than external donors.
Reaction in the Ethereum community has included criticism on social media, with some users calling the plan a tax and warning it could centralize control over funds.Critics may also argue that if validators are willing to give up part of their rewards, Ethereum could simply reduce issuance instead.
The proposal is a starting point rather than a finished answer, with discussions actively ongoing before it moves to a formal voting process.
Sources:CoinDesk: Ethereum Validators Asked to Fund Projects With Up to 10% of Staking RewardsGNCrypto News: Kleros Founder Proposes 10% Validator Redirect on EthereumBitcoin.com News: Kleros Founder Proposes Protocol-Level Validator Redirect Rate
