Introduce an Identified DVT Cluster type in the Community Staking Module

TL;DR

This proposal introduces a new CSM Node Operator type — Identified DVT Cluster (IDVTC) — allowing groups of 4 Identified Community Stakers (ICS) to run validators collaboratively using DVT. The design combines the trust guarantees of ICS with the resilience of DVT, offering improved capital efficiency while maintaining strict eligibility requirements and DAO oversight. For full proposal details, please refer to the Research Forum.

Background and Motivation

While the Community Staking Module (CSM) already supports permissionless DVT-based validator operation, it does not currently offer a capital-efficient path tailored to independent DVT clusters. At the same time, DVT adoption across the Lido protocol has continued to grow, and the Identified Community Staker (ICS) operator type has also seen strong demand from stakers willing to operate under more economically attractive conditions. The proposed IDVTC type builds on both developments by combining the resilience benefits of DVT with the trust assumptions of ICS, creating a more suitable framework for small independent operators running validators collaboratively.

Proposal

This proposal introduces a new Node Operator type in the CSM: the Identified DVT Cluster (IDVTC), which will allow clusters of 4 verified, independent community stakers to operate validators together using DVT, and an economics model designed for shared validator operation.

To qualify, each participant in an IDVTC must already be approved under the ICS framework or already be an ICS operator. The cluster must use an approved DVT setup (such as Obol or SSV), generate keys through a Distributed Key Generation (DKG) ceremony of a chosen DVT provider, provide the required proof artifacts, signatures, and contact information, and remain enrolled in monitoring. Each participant may only belong to one IDVTC at a time. If an IDVTC stops meeting the requirements, it may be downgraded to the default (permissionless) CSM type, with the corresponding default fee and bond parameters applied. To support onboarding and ongoing administration, approved clusters would be added to the relevant CSM gate via Easy Track motions initiated by the CSM Committee after review.

The new type is proposed to go live with the CSM v3 release, expected in Q3 2026.

Parameters

The proposed parameterization is intended to make IDVTCs more capital-efficient than other operator types within the CSM at certain capital levels, aiming to give IDVTCs a higher capital multiplier than standard ICS and permissionless CSM operators, especially in lower and mid capital ranges, reflecting the view that DVT reduces risks such as downtime, slashing, and Execution Level rewards stealing.

The graph above compares the capital multiplier across different CSM node operator types. With the proposed parameters, IDVTC achieves a higher capital multiplier than ICS once the bonded capital exceeds roughly ~2.5 ETH.

The parameters are proposed as follows:

Parameter	Value
Node Operator reward	3.5% for the first 64 keys; 2% for subsequent keys
Bond	1.5 ETH for the first key; 0.5 ETH for each subsequent key
Priority queue	up to 40 keys over the cluster lifetime can be added via priority queue (lower priority than ICS keys); remaining keys via general queue
Strikes parameters	2 strikes till key exit; strike lifetime: 4 months

CSM Committee mandate update

In order to streamline the governance process around the new type, it is proposed that the CSM Committee will be responsible for:

• Adjusting the IDVTC requirements and eligibility criteria
• Pausing or stopping the application intake and update of the IDVTC list
• Updating the IDVTC list (on-chain, via Easy Track)
• Monitoring, detecting, and downgrading the operator type if requirements are no longer met (on-chain)

All responsibilities, requirements, and eligibility criteria remain subject to DAO oversight and may be modified, reassigned, revoked, or overridden by tokenholders through a DAO governance vote at any time.

Next steps

If the community supports the proposal, the following steps will be taken:

• The CSM Committee will be assigned responsibility for maintaining the IDVTC framework.
• The new IDVTC type will be introduced in CSM as part of the CSM v3 release, including the eligibility rules, DVT operating requirements, dedicated reward/bond/queue/strike parameters, the downgrade mechanism defined in this proposal, and the updated CSM Committee permissions.