Ethereum Staking Demand is Slowing: Report

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Following the activation of The Merge update, the queue of validators for Ethereum has been cleared for the first time since the Shanghai hard fork in April.

This indicates a stabilization in the demand for staking ETH, according to a report from Coinbase’s research team.

On September 15, 2022, the developers of the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization implemented a major update called The Merge, which shifted the blockchain from the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus algorithm to Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

The change included a shift in the responsibilities of securing the network and distributing coins from miners to validators.

To become a validator, users need to stake 32 ETH. They can also earn passive income by delegating their assets through specialized platforms and services.

The recent implementation of the Shanghai hard fork (part of the Shapella update) made it possible for ETH to be withdrawn from the deposit contract, leading to an increase in the number of locked cryptocurrencies.