Ethereum 2.0 has over 200,000 validators for the first time since its launch seven months ago on December 1, 2020. The Proof of Stake (PoS) network has been operating without any problems since then, gradually gaining trust to the point that the volume of ETH in the Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract is 6,405,339 coins, worth $13.5 bln. Currently, about 6% of the total supply is withdrawn from circulation.
Exactly how many users have launched validators is unknown. One person can have many validators. The launch cost of each is 32 ETH. The assessment is complicated by the fact that ETH 2.0 staking services are provided by exchanges that can combine deposits from many users and run many validators for one. Currently, such users earn 6.1% per annum or 2 ETH from the validator on their assets.
Ethereum founder Vitalik BUTERIN previously said that in the future there may be a need to limit the number of validators to 1 million. As such, it may become more difficult to join Ethereum 2.0 as a validator in the future.
Image: Hashalot