With so much going on concerning Ethereum, the “phase 0 layer” or the Beacon chain began the affair. It reformed the consensus model from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake. Launched in December 202o, it marked the beginning of a new era for the market’s second-biggest asset.
‘Glimmer of hope
The Ethereum network has seen significant growth since 2020. Likewise, the number of validators on the network after the development of Beacon has seen an unprecedented increase in traction. At the time of this writing, the number of validators had crossed the 350,000 mark. It was somewhere around the 352,063 mark.
The graph below showcased this impressive rise. Among these is the addition of 50,000 validators to the network since the start of March.
At the start of 2021, the number of validators was less than 50,000 — and its rise since then is a testament to trust in the network. He has surely come a long way.
As pointed out by an analyst in a CryptoQuant post, the ETH staking rate observed a sharp increase recently as inflows had spiked up. The total amount staked now stood very close to 11.06 million ETH. The deposit contract permitted Ethereum to be moved from Ethereum’s mainnet to the Beacon Chain. At current prices, this staked ETH worth approximately more than $26 billion.
The Ethereum mainnet is expected to merge with the Beacon chain. Expected to happen in June, as specified by Ethereum improvement proposal 4345, although it was delayed before.
Center of attention
Investors and whales have showcased trust and affection towards the largest altcoin. The amount of ETH on centralized exchanges dropped considerably since the middle of 2020. This is considered as a bullish development as investors are choosing to HODL their tokens.
The said drop could be seen in the chart above. The same visible narrative on total value locked that demonstrates market confidence. According to DefiLama, TVL at press time was around $115.5 billion with a 2% increase in the last 24 hours. Layer 2 network optimism hit a new all-time high of $525 million. The past few weeks have been particularly strong for Optimism.
Nonetheless, one can’t help but be bullish about Ethereum’s future.
