$115B Worth of Ethereum Staked in the Beacon Chain Surpasses Previous Records
The market value of Ethereum staked on the Beacon Chain has exceeded $115 billion after its surge to $3,700 earlier this week.
More than 31.5 million Ether, which accounts for 26% of Ethereum’s total supply, is now staked on the network’s proof-of-stake system, known as the Beacon Chain. This has been achieved through the participation of over 980,000 individual validators.
The significant increase in Ethereum staking began after the Shapella upgrade in April 2023, which allowed users and validators to withdraw their funds following the merge. Despite concerns of a potential price drop, Ethereum experienced a positive outcome, as it gained over 11 million ETH from new stakes.
Enhanced Security for Ethereum
The record-breaking amount of ETH staked signifies a higher level of economic security and stability under Ethereum’s new proof-of-stake mechanism. To gain control over the Ethereum network and attempt to reverse transactions or execute a double-spending attack, a potential hacker would need to possess at least 50% of the total stake held by validators. This would require a minimum investment of $57 billion, making such an attack financially unfeasible for most individuals.
Ethereum’s Ascending Trajectory
On Tuesday, ETH witnessed a nearly 5% increase in value and traded above $3,700 for the first time since January 2022. This upward trend coincided with Bitcoin’s surge to nearly 2.5% below its all-time high of $68,500.
The recent decision by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to delay BlackRock’s application for an Ether spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) did not hinder Ethereum’s performance. In fact, the second-largest cryptocurrency demonstrated resilience and continued its rally despite the setback. Market analysts had already anticipated this move by the US regulator, hence it did not come as a surprise to investors.
Unlike Bitcoin, which is still around 23% away from its peak value of $4,805, Ethereum has the potential to experience a bullish surge if an Ether spot ETF is approved in May, similar to the effect it had on Bitcoin.
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Ether (ETH)
Ethereum
