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Since the staked tokens are not destroyed and every address with staked token is earning new tokens almost at the same rate, if an entity or a group obtain majority of stakes, they can hold it forever. Is that right?

If not, what measures are in place to either prevent it or solve it if happened?

EDIT: The main issue would be preserving neutrality of the network, e.g., being censorship resistant.

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  • Please formulate a clear question, are you referring to a 51% attack
    – johnny 5
    Commented Jan 18, 2023 at 18:28
  • @johnny5, No, I'm not concerned about 51% attack. The main issue would be preserving neutrality of the network, e.g., being censorship resistant. (added to the description as well)
    – Mehran Shakeri
    Commented Jan 19, 2023 at 11:39
  • @johnny5, even in a more general form, if an entity holds more Ether and participates in staking and validation as well, that entity will remain the largest holder forever. Is that right?
    – Mehran Shakeri
    Commented Jan 19, 2023 at 11:41

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In PoS systems, the mining algorithm randomly selects operating validators to verify transactions, rather than >50% agreement across the network like PoW: therein, unless you crack the blockchain in <12s (average block time in Ethereum, which even by todays standards is sluggish) you are never aware of if you are a verifyer.

Even if you or this hypothetical group had majority control, you wouldn’t know it until too late.

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  • So your argument is the randomness? But the same random selection algorithm ensures that addresses who have staked Ethereum will be selected. And the validator list for an epoc is already known which lasts 384s (12*32). Ref: ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pos/…
    – Mehran Shakeri
    Commented Jan 19, 2023 at 5:47
  • Exactly yes, randomness is the ‘argument’, regardless of block/epoc time
    – immaxkent
    Commented Jan 19, 2023 at 23:50
  • But then it doesn't answer my question. The question was if a majority Eth holder(s), when attending in staking and validation, will remain the majority holder or not? I've improved the question.
    – Mehran Shakeri
    Commented Jan 20, 2023 at 11:54
  • Ok, in answer to ‘if a majority eth holder will remain majority holder’, the fact that a validators has been chosen and executed validation has no direct affect on the staked amount: they will remain majority unless other factors come into play
    – immaxkent
    Commented Jan 20, 2023 at 18:20
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Based on given answers and available documents, if an entity or a group gain majority of staked tokens, they can remain the dominant stakeholder forever. This has two complications:

  1. It's not clear if co-founders or exchanges are already in such a position or not.
  2. The network won't be censorship-resistance anymore, undermining its neutrality.

If that's already the case, then Ethereum has become an enterprise already.

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