Ethereum 2.0 is still far on the horizon. Scheduled to occur in 2022, the project has experienced numerous delays that have pushed back its release date further. This has although not been a deterrent for investors in Ethereum to invest their coins on the network. The amount of staked coins on the network has been on a steady rise, especially in 2021. Accelerated by the mostly green trends that the market has enjoyed this year.
Related Reading | SEC Is Too “Short-Staffed” To Regulate Crypto Properly, Chairman Gary Gensler
Staking has grown in recent months with the explosion of decentralized finance (DeFi). This is because users who have their coins staked get a reward for locking up their coins in these contracts. As a result of this, the amount of projects offering staking has also grown. Although Ethereum remains at the forefront of this. In less than a year, the community around Ethereum 2.0 has grown tremendously.
6.5 Percent Of Total ETH Supply Locked
Earlier in the year, Ethereum hit the market for having 5% of its total supply locked in its deposit address. This growth has continued in the third quarter of the year. Presently, the number of ETH staked ahead of Ethereum 2.0 is now 7.7 million ETH. Leading to a total of over $25 billion already staked on the network.
Related Reading | Survey Finds That 1 In 4 U.S. Teens Would Rather Invest In Crypto
A month ago, this number had been at $20 billion staked, and in just the span of a little over a month, the amount jumped 25% to land at over 6.5% of the total circulating supply now locked ahead of Ethereum 2.0.
In addition to making the network more scalable, ETH staking provides a way for investors to earn passive income with their cryptocurrencies. This has been one of the main drivers of the adoption of staking with ETH 2.0.
Ethereum Validators Now More Than 240,000
The number of validators has risen as the number of ETH staked has grown. 32 is needed to run a full validator node. And given that not every investor can afford to stake 32 ETH, they pool their ETH on exchanges, which then stakes the coins on behalf of the investors.
Current figures show that validators on the Ethereum 2.0 contract have now surpassed 240,000. A 17% increase from the 200,000 validators milestone that the network had hit two months ago.
ETH price falls below $3,000 | Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com
Ethereum continues to struggle to maintain its position above $3,000. The digital asset is currently trending around $3,100 after recording numerous dips throughout the weekend. As the new week draws open, Ethereum has lost over $300 from its peak value weekend value on Saturday of $3,544.
Featured image from Analytics Insight, chart from TradingView.com