As a seasoned crypto investor with roots tracing back to the early days of Bitcoin, I’ve witnessed the evolution of the blockchain landscape from a distant curiosity to an integral part of our financial future. The growth in Ethereum validators over the past year has been nothing short of breathtaking, surpassing one million for the first time – a milestone that underscores the increasing institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies.
There’s been considerable expansion among Ethereum validators over the last year, which underscores the increasing institutional interest in digital currencies.
Over the course of the last year, the number of Ethereum validators grew by more than 30%, surpassing one million for the first time in June 2024. This growth came from an initial 824,300 validators in September 2023, as per a report from Flipside Crypto, which was exclusively shared with CryptoMoon.
As a researcher, I’ve observed an increase in the number of validators, which can be largely attributed to a surge in institutional interest. This heightened interest is primarily driven by advancements in the restaking and liquid staking sectors.
He told CryptoMoon:
“The rise of liquid staking and more recently restaking has enticed institutions interested in both immediate liquidity (i.e., circumventing the withdrawal periods of Beacon Chain via Liquid Staked tokens) and enhanced capital efficiency (i.e., leverage) from restaking.”
Restaking procedures allow validators and token holders to reinvest their staked derivatives, such as Lido Staked ETH (STETH) or rETH from RocketPool, for use in securing and validating other blockchain networks. These assets can also be utilized within various DeFi platforms to generate extra returns.
Staked Ether growth driven by Shanghai upgrade and Ethereum ETFs
In the last year, the quantity of Ether (ETH) that has been staked has grown by over 27%, reaching a record high of more than 34.7 million staked ETH for the first time, specifically during the month of September.
The report attributes this growth to the Shanghai upgrade and the approval of the first Ethereum futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which introduced “key growth periods” for staked Ether.
In April 2023, the Shanghai update took place, marking the initial opportunity for network contributors to withdraw or “unstake” their Ether, following the shift from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) during The Merge.
Staking activities also growing on Polygon
The expansion of validators on the Ethereum network is a significant component of a wider surge in staking activities occurring on various other blockchain platforms, such as Polygon’s Proof-of-Stake network.
Over the past year, there’s been a significant rise of approximately 36.4% in the number of Polygon wallets participating in staking. However, the count of Polygon-based validators has remained unchanged since June, which can be attributed to the blockchain’s cap on validators.
The increase in the number of cross-chain validators indicates that participants remain undeterred by the possibility of lower staking rewards, according to the report.
Read More
- HBAR PREDICTION. HBAR cryptocurrency
- IMX PREDICTION. IMX cryptocurrency
- STEEM PREDICTION. STEEM cryptocurrency
- LDO PREDICTION. LDO cryptocurrency
- POL PREDICTION. POL cryptocurrency
- FLOKI PREDICTION. FLOKI cryptocurrency
- COW PREDICTION. COW cryptocurrency
- MNT PREDICTION. MNT cryptocurrency
- JTO PREDICTION. JTO cryptocurrency
- TRB PREDICTION. TRB cryptocurrency
2024-10-16 18:18