The Ethereum network saw a surge as the number of validators approached 1 million.
On-chain data from the Beacon Chain and Ethereum validator queue shows the number of active validators at 979,686. However, a Dune Analytics dashboard curated by Dragonfly analyst Hildobby puts the network’s total number at more than 1 million.
These validators held a total of 31.36 million ETH, accounting for approximately 26% of the total supply of digital assets.
Notably, most of these validators staked their assets through Lido, a liquid staking platform that accounts for approximately 30% of staked ETH, according to Nansen data.
Ethereum validators play an important role in keeping the network secure through the proof-of-stake mechanism. To participate, they stake at least 32 ETH and are rewarded with a portion of ETH in return.
As a result, an increase in the number of validators means a strengthened network and reflects the improved security of the blockchain.
Meanwhile, this milestone is especially significant amid the surge in validator interest, evidenced by the growing queue of over 10,000 validators waiting to enter the network. This is the highest this year. This waiting list is worth over 320,000 ETH, or $1.1 billion, and is expected to be completed within the next 7 days.
Decentralized Staking
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently put forward a proposal to improve the network’s staking mechanism.
In his blog post, Buterin outlined his plan to impose a penalty proportional to the average failure rate of validators. This move addresses the inherent advantage that larger ETH stakes have over smaller stakes.
Buterin also recommended stricter penalties for simultaneous failures among multiple validators controlled by a company.
According to him:
“One strategy to encourage better decentralization in protocols is: penalize correlation. That is, if one actor misbehaves (including by accident), the more other actors misbehave at the same time (measured in total ETH), the greater the penalty they receive.”
Buterin argued that the move would encourage larger companies to diversify their operations, making widespread network failures less likely.