Ethereum 2.0 Staking Reached $21B With New Merge On The Horizon

Ethereum 2.0 staking reached $21 billion and now the stakes are locking up the funds until Ethereum 2.0 is farther along so let’s read more in today’s ETH news.

Ethereum staking now represents the biggest allocation of any Ethereum holding. The Ethereum 2.0 staking reached $21 billion or 6.73 million ETH, surpassing the total amount of wrapper Ethereum on the network according to the data from the blockchain analytics company Nansen. The rising volume of the staked ETH signals more confidence among ETH users in the developer’s ability to deliver on the much-anticipated ethereum 2.0 network update when the proof of work blockchain of ETH merges with the proof of stake chain.

Check who's #1 ETH holder now guys! pic.twitter.com/3isDLkrv7I

— Alex Svanevik ✨ (@ASvanevik) August 16, 2021

Unlike most another crypto staking, staked ETH remains locked up until this milestone which doesn’t have a fixed date, with the merge expected to happen in early 2022 and that stands in contrast to wrapped Ethereum which are 1:1 tokenized versions of the regular Ethereum coins which can be put to use straight away and they can also be more compatible for use on decentralized finance, non-custodial financial services, and trading via a blockchain. Ethereum just like Bitcoin works on a blockchain mechanism called proof of work which relies on gas miners that are able to validate transactions. Miners can solve complex equations to win the privilege of validating transactions and being rewarded with newly-minted coins.

Mining is a lucrative business for wealthy investors and companies that can afford high-tech hardware and industrial sites but it is less accessible for ordinary users. Staking is an alternative to mining and can change all that. It refers to pledging crypto to a blockchain network and takes part in the risk of verifying transactions. For putting the economic resources on the table and secure the Pos network, speakers will get newly minted coins as a reward. There’s a minimal requirement of 32 ETH to become a validator and run an ETH 2.0 node but through staking as a service companies will be speakers and can be pool together their holdings and meet the threshold to participate in the securing of the network and earn rewards.

The source of half of ETH staked isn[‘t knew. The biggest amount of staked ETH is deposited on Kraken and that is followed by staking as a service company Lido Finance with 762,272 ETH.