The number of Ethereum (ETH) validators has reached 500,000, according to BeaconScan data, ahead of the planned “Shanghai” upgrade next March.
A validator secures a proof of stake (PoS) blockchain, validating transactions on the network and – among other things – protecting it from double-spending errors.
As it is known, to become a validator on Ethereum one has to stake the amount of 32 ETH, worth about $50,000 at current prices.
As a reminder, as of September 15, 2022, after the Merger, Ethereum will operate with the proof of participation mechanism, as opposed to the proof of work (PoW) mechanism it previously operated with.
The milestone for Ethereum’s proof of participation mechanism is considered the “Shanghai” renewal, which is scheduled for next March. After this update, validators will be able to withdraw their staking ETH, as well as the rewards they have earned from staking so far.
Withdrawal amounts, however, will be limited to 43,200 ETH per day from the total amount of ETH that has been staked. This total currently stands at around 16 million ETH, according to Etherscan. This limit has been set in order to prevent any sudden mass exodus of validators.
Shanghai and MetaMask
“Shanghai” is not the only factor pushing the number of validators upwards. The popular cryptocurrency wallet, MetaMask, recently released a new staking feature, through which users can now stake their Ethereum using liquid staking protocols such as Lido or Rocket Pool.
Lido and Rocket Pool allow users to stake less than the required 32 Ethereum to participate. In exchange for their deposits, they receive derivative tokens, called LSDs, which can be used to earn additional rewards in DeFi.
Read Also: How Lido Finance (LDO) can play a leading role in cryptocurrency ecosystem
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