PANews, June 22 – According to a report by CoinDesk, a new proposal has emerged on the Ethereum research forum that would allow validators to redirect between 0% and 10% of their staking rewards to ecosystem public goods funding. Validators could express their willingness to redirect a certain percentage, and if a majority supports a rate above zero, it would become mandatory for all validators. The proposal aims to address Ethereum’s “free-rider” problem — where many projects benefit from shared infrastructure and security research, but no one is willing to bear the costs alone. The proposal argues that validators are natural long-term stakeholders, and better ecosystem funding could increase network activity, ETH burning, and the value of staked ETH.

Currently, validators receive approximately 700,000 ETH in rewards annually. A redirection rate of 5% to 10% could generate 50,000 to 70,000 ETH per year (around $120 million). However, the proposal faces risks: validators could coordinate to raise the rate and direct funds to themselves; ETH holders who delegate through staking services or exchanges could bear losses without having decision-making power. Critics may argue that ETH issuance should simply be reduced rather than redirected. The proposal is currently in the discussion stage and has not yet entered a formal voting process.