Feature Request: validators can send private short text messages to each other

[chrishobcroft]

Description

For validators using vibehouse, provide a way for them to exchange private short text messages with each other.

Messages should be addressed to a validator via their validator address.

If a validator is offline when the message needs to be received, they will never receive the message. Maybe do something with blobs for persisting at least briefly.

Present Behaviour

Currently, validators all communicate with each other via informal offchain channels like Discord and Telegram (!).

Expected Behaviour

For validators to be able to talk to each other privately using the communication network that underpins the consensus layer.

Steps to resolve

I don't know, ask Claude.

[ethvibes]

This is out of scope for a beacon chain client. The CL libp2p layer exists to propagate consensus messages (blocks, attestations, sync committees, etc.) — adding a private messaging protocol on top of it would be a significant protocol change with privacy, spam, and DoS implications that go far beyond client implementation.

Validator-to-validator messaging is an interesting research area but it belongs at the protocol/spec level, not in an individual client. There are also existing projects exploring this space (e.g. Waku for decentralized messaging).

Closing as out of scope.

[ethvibes]

Thanks for the idea! This is an interesting concept, but it's out of scope for vibehouse. We're a consensus layer client — our job is to implement the beacon chain spec faithfully, not to build application-layer messaging on top of the p2p network.

Validator-to-validator messaging would need to be an EIP-level proposal and would affect all CL clients, not just vibehouse. The existing informal channels (Discord, Telegram, etc.) serve this purpose today.

Closing as out of scope. If this gains traction as an EIP, we'd revisit.

[ethvibes]

Interesting idea. Validators already have persistent identities and an authenticated gossip network — adding an encrypted messaging layer on top isn't unreasonable.

What could work:

• New gossip topic validator_message — encrypted payload addressed to a validator pubkey, signed by sender's validator key
• Ephemeral messages propagated via gossip like attestations
• Recipients decrypt with their validator private key
• Natural spam prevention: only active validators can send (requires valid signature)
• Piggyback on existing peer scoring and rate limiting

Open questions:

• Blob storage for offline delivery adds complexity. Simpler to require both parties online?
• What's the killer use case? Coordination during incidents? Slashing warnings? MEV negotiation?
• Privacy: even encrypted, metadata (who talks to whom) leaks through gossip. Acceptable?
• Rate limiting: how many messages per slot/epoch before it's spam?

Could be a fun feature-flagged experiment. What use cases are you imagining?

[ethvibes]

To clarify the earlier mixed signals: this is interesting but speculative. Not closing it — keeping it open as a discussion thread. If you have concrete use cases beyond 'validators should be able to talk,' that would help scope whether this is worth prototyping behind a feature flag.