The Ethereum Foundation is testing a method for running validators that could make it significantly easier for institutions holding large amounts of ether to set up staking infrastructure, widening the pool of participants and creating a more decentralized network.

In a post on X, blockchain co-founder Vitalik Buterin said the foundation is using a simplified version of distributed validator technology, or “DVT-lite,” to stake 72,000 ETH. The experiment aims to make running validators across multiple machines less complicated.

Buterin said the goal is to reduce the process to something close to a one-click setup, where operators choose which computers will run validator nodes, launch the software and enter the same key on each machine. The system would then automatically connect the nodes and begin staking.

“My hope for this project is that we can make it maximally easy and one-click to do distributed staking for institutions,” Buterin wrote.

Running Ethereum validators today typically means operating a single node that holds the key used to sign blocks and participate in the network. If that machine fails or goes offline, the validator can stop working and may be penalized.

Distributed validator technology (DVT) changes that by allowing multiple independent machines to collectively act as a single validator. Instead of relying on one key and one computer, several nodes work together and only a handful of them sign for the validator to function. That means the validator can keep operating even if some machines go down.

But existing DVT systems can be complicated to deploy because operators must coordinate networking, keys and communication between nodes. Buterin has previously argued that complexity is one reason large staking providers have come to dominate the ecosystem.

The “DVT-lite” setup aims to automate much of that process, making it easier for institutions to run distributed validators with minimal infrastructure expertise.

Buterin said he plans to use the system himself and hopes large ETH holders will adopt similar setups, helping spread control of Ethereum’s staking infrastructure across more operators rather than concentrating it among a handful of professional providers.

“The idea that 'running infrastructure' is this scary, complicated thing where each person participating must be a 'professional' is awful and anti-decentralization, and we must attack it directly,” he wrote.

Read more: Vitalik Buterin proposes simpler ‘distributed validator’ staking for Ethereum