Ethereum core developers plan to implement a 64-fold increase in the minimum amount of Ether (ETH) required to become a validator, from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH.
The proposal was made during the Ethereum core developer consensus. meeting by a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, Michael Neuder. The researcher noted that although the current limit of 32 ETH makes way for more validators to join the Ethereum network and thus makes it more decentralized, at the same time it also leads to inflation of the size of the validator pool.
Neuder added that such a large increase would ultimately help the Ethereum network become more efficient over time. In addition to the proposal to increase the ETH limit staked by the validator, Neuder also asked for autocompound validator rewards.
(embed)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybgQuRcz9sg(/embed)
Automatic compounding of validator rewards would give way for validators to earn more money from their staked ETH. Currently, to generate staking income, received rewards that exceed the 32 ETH limit must be transferred to another account. These benefits could quickly compound if the cap were increased, giving validators a handy way to increase their win reward.
Neuder claimed that the current proposal would not only make the Ethereum network more efficient and allow validators to earn more money, but would also help large node operators, such as exchanges that run thousands of validators today.
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The 32 ETH limit has caused a significant increase in validation addresses after Ethereum’s transition to a proof-of-stake network. Currently, there are over 700,000 validators with around 90,000 waiting for activation in the queue.
The proposal received mixed reactions from the crypto community with several users noting that such a significant change in the ETH staked would lead to fewer validators and thus make the network more centralized. Other users dismissed the idea, stating that it would not be beneficial to the network.
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