Vitalik Buterin Advocates for a Reduction in Ethereum’s Minimum Staking deposit

• The Co-founder of Ethereum has asserted the importance for a drop in minimum staking requirements. 
• Vitalik Buterin told network developers to look into the possibility of reducing staking deposits  from 32 ETH to 16 or 24 ETH. 
• According to Buterin, the move could strengthen the overall security of the network and boost decentralization. 

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, says reducing staking requirements would benefit the network.

Buterin explained on Warpcast, a decentralized social network, that this change could improve decentralization and solo staking. On the Ethereum network, investors use solo staking to earn rewards. However, they must first lock up 32 ETH, currently valued at $78,464.

While stakers have the option to run their nodes on their personal computers without relying on external entities, the amount of ETH required to participate in solo staking might be too high for some investors; Buterin said during the community discussion.

Reducing Staking Deposits Could Improve Accessibility

Buterin compared the 32 ETH requirement to bandwidth requirements, arguing that the former is a bigger obstacle. He proposed increasing bandwidth requirements in exchange for lowering staking deposits to 16 or 24 ETH.

Read also: Ethereum Staking Rewards to Outpace U.S. Interest Rates by 2025: FalconX

Vitalik Buterin went on to explain that validate sentiments that some investors with required funds might still refrain from upgrading their internet connection, to accommodate staking activities. 

He added that more solo staking on Ethereum would mean less reliance on institutional stakers. However, he thinks lowering minimum deposits is more important than lowering minimum performance requirements.

Buterin’s Vision for Solo Staking

Buterin had previously spotlighted the need for solo staking on Ethereum, particularly for the strengthening of the network’s decentralization and overall security, during the Ethereum Singapore 2024 conference held in September. 

Conclusively, he stated that the move will be “net-good” for scaling and staking accessibility. As network developers continue to make discoveries and solve existing challenges, the deposit minimum for solo staking can drop to 1 ETH, he added.