Clément Lesaege, founder of Kleros, posted a proposal on the Ethereum Research forum this week that could redirect up to 10% of ETH staking rewards to public goods. The plan, called 'Validator Redirected Revenue,' would force all validators to contribute if a majority signals support — a direct threat to the revenue model of large stakers like Bitmine.
How the mechanism works
Under the proposal, validators would signal a preferred redirect rate between 0% and 10%. If more than half of all staked ETH votes for a rate above zero, that single rate becomes mandatory for everyone — even those who voted for zero. The idea is to fund public goods without relying on voluntary donations. Lesaege described the post as a conversation-starter, seeking feedback before working on a technical implementation for an EIP. The proposal currently has no EIP number.
Bitmine's massive exposure
Bitmine (BMNR) has staked 4.72 million ETH through its MAVAN platform — 87% of its total ETH holdings and 4.49% of the entire ETH supply. At full deployment, the company projects $296 million in gross staking rewards and $258 million in net revenue annually. Staking contributed more than 93% of Bitmine's quarterly revenue in Q2 FY2026. A 10% redirect of the current 2.73% yield would divert 0.27 percentage points, or about $25 million per year away from Bitmine's validators. But the company's own exposure estimate is wider: $50 million to $100 million in lost income annually, factoring in compounding effects like reduced participation incentives and ETH price moves. Each 1 percentage point cut in effective yield on 4.72 million ETH costs roughly $94 million a year in gross rewards at an ETH price around $2,000.
Parallel efforts and timing
At EthCC, Ethereum Foundation researcher Devansh Mehta presented a similar mechanism called Validator Revenue Redistribution (VRR). The timing isn't great for Bitmine. The company declared a $0.01 annual dividend in January 2026, funded directly by staking income. Any mandatory revenue redirect would squeeze that payout.
Lesaege is gathering feedback on the forum. He hasn't submitted a formal EIP yet. If the idea gains traction, the next concrete step would be a technical draft for an Ethereum improvement proposal. For now, it's a discussion — but one that big stakers are watching closely.
