The plan drew varied responses from the cryptocurrency community, with some users emphasizing that it would centralize the network.
The maximum staked amount of ether necessary to become a validator on the Ethereum network may be significantly increased, according to Ethereum core developers. The suggestion involves keeping the minimum staking value at 32 ETH while increasing the ceiling from the current 32 ETH to 2048 ETH.
Michael Neuder, a researcher for the Ethereum Foundation, made the suggestion during a June 15 Ethereum core developer consensus meeting. While the current 32 ETH cap encourages decentralization by letting more validators to join, Neuder recognized that it also causes an expansion of the validator set.
The proposed 64-fold increase in the amount of ETH that must be staked will increase the Ethereum network’s efficiency over time. As an extra step, Neuder proposed the idea of auto-compounding validator incentives.
Related: Surging rates reward Ethereum validators with a record $46M.
Validators would be able to optimize their earnings from staked ETH if incentives were automatically compounded. Currently, in order to generate staking income, prizes that are greater than the 32 ETH cap must be moved to a different account. By raising the cap, validators would have a useful opportunity to compound their benefits and boost their overall income.
Due to the current 32 ETH cap, validator addresses have significantly increased since Ethereum switched to a proof-of-stake network. Over 700,000 validators are active at the moment, with over 90,000 validators in the queue waiting to be activated.
The bitcoin community has responded to the plan in a variety of ways. Some users are worried that a big increase in the staked ETH threshold may result in a reduction in validators and possibly centralization of the network. On the other side, other users reject the proposal, saying that it would not significantly improve the Ethereum network.
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The debate on raising the staked ETH threshold is a reflection of ongoing work being done by Ethereum core developers to adjust the specifications of the network’s proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. Decentralization, efficiency, and the financial incentives for validators must all be balanced.
Related: Why is Ethereum (ETH) price down today?
Proposals like the one made by Michael Neuder help to the continued development and advancement of the Ethereum ecosystem as Ethereum continues to change and solve the issues of scalability and network security. Discussions in the community and agreement among Ethereum core developers will be used to make the ultimate decision regarding the suggested improvements.