Ethereum’s Biggest Increase: One Million Validators and Counting

The Ethereum network has reached a milestone, surpassing one million verifiers. He has 32 million Ether (ETH) stake in the network, worth about $114 billion. This ETH held in stake represents about 26% of the total supply, indicating a strong commitment to Ethereum's proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.

TLDR

The Ethereum network has reached one million validators, with a stake of 32 million ETH (approximately $114 billion), which is 26% of the total supply. Lido, Ethereum's staking pool, holds around 30% of the ETH held, allowing smaller amounts of users to participate in the staking process. Some members of the community express concern about problems that could arise from excessive validators, such as an increase in failed transactions. Vitalik Buterin proposed a mechanism to penalize validators in proportion to their average failure rate, potentially reducing the leverage of large ETH stakeholders over smaller ones. The SEC has postponed its decision on Ether ETF applications from major financial institutions, with deadlines extended to May 2024.

Data from the Dune Analytic Dashboard, which tracks Ethereum's growth, confirmed that the confirmation count reached one million on March 28. Validators play a vital role in keeping the Ethereum blockchain secure by monitoring transactions for any malicious activity. Double cost.

In Ethereum, validators submit and verify transactions in the network, requiring a stake of 32 ETH. In return for their participation, validators receive rewards in the form of ETH units.

Among the available staking options, Lido, an Ethereum staking pool, accounts for approximately 30% of the ETH held. Staking pools like Lido allow users with small amounts of ETH to pool their assets and participate in the staking process, making it more accessible to more users.

While a higher number of verifiers generally improves the security of the blockchain, some members of the Ethereum community have expressed concern about the problems that can arise from an excessive number of verifiers.

Evan Van Ness, a venture investor and Ethereum advocate, suggests that there may already be “too much” at stake. Gabriel Weide, a staking pool operator, warns that many validators will increase the number of “failed transactions”.

More than 1 million Ethereum validators

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To address the decentralization of the network, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin recently proposed a way to improve the system. In a blog post, Buterin proposed penalizing verifiers against their average failure rate.

By implementing this approach, penalties will be higher if multiple validators fail in the same area, potentially reducing the advantage of large ETH stakeholders over smaller ones.

In related news, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently extended its decision on applications for Ether ETFs from major financial institutions such as BlackRock and Fidelity.

The deadlines for these decisions have been extended to May 2024. The SEC's decision to extend the deadline was earlier extended to December 2023, at which point it sought additional public comment on whether the ETF should register. Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analysts James Seifert and Eric Balchunas both said they expect a possible reluctance in May, correcting their forecasts for pending approvals.

As the Ethereum network continues to evolve and grow, the milestone of one million validators represents an increase in interest and participation in the network.