Ethereum Reaches 1 Million Validators
27 Mar, 2024 ● Coin news
The Ethereum network recently reached a significant milestone by achieving one million validators, with 32 million Ether (ETH) staked, amounting to an approximate value of $114 billion according to current market valuations.
On March 28, an analytics dashboard on Dune Analytics, developed by Hildobby to monitor the progress of Ethereum staking, indicated that the network had attained a validator count of one million.
This figure represents 26% of Ethereum's total supply, with 32 million ETH staked.
The dashboard further revealed that about 30% of the staked ETH is through Lido, a liquid staking solution for proof-of-stake (PoS) cryptocurrencies, highlighting its popularity among users, especially those holding smaller amounts of ETH.
Validators play a crucial role in maintaining blockchain integrity, overseeing the network to prevent fraudulent activities such as double-spending, where the same digital currency is spent more than once.
In the Ethereum ecosystem, validators are tasked with proposing and verifying transactions.
To become a validator, one must stake 32 ETH, earning a reward in ETH for their participation.
However, the growing number of validators has sparked a debate within the community regarding the implications for blockchain security.
Some argue that having too many validators could introduce new challenges.
Evan Van Ness, a venture investor and proponent of Ethereum, has suggested that the amount of ETH currently staked might be "too much."
Similarly, Gabriel Weide, who operates a staking pool, expressed concerns that an excessive number of validators could result in "failed transactions."
Conversely, Peter Kim, the head of engineering at Coinbase Wallet, acknowledged the "impressive" number of validators but critiqued it as "artificially inflated by the 32 ETH cap," hinting at potential changes in the future.
Amidst discussions on the impact of increasing validators, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposed a method to enhance network decentralization.
In a blog post published on March 27, Buterin suggested imposing penalties on validators in accordance with their average failure rate, meaning higher penalties for failures if many validators fail simultaneously.
This strategy aims to diminish the dominance of large stakers, making the system more equitable for smaller participants, as per Buterin's proposal.
Sources:
https://dune.com/hildobby/eth2-staking
