Nearly 10% of Ether supply staked in anticipation of Ethereum 2.0 merge

TL;DR Breakdown:

• About 11.5 million ETH has been staked on Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract.
• Over 360k validators are now active on the network
• Ethereum merge could happen months after June. 

Nearly 10% of Ether (ETH) supply in circulation has been staked in anticipation of Ethereum’s merge to the long-proposed Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. 

9.5% ETH supply staked 

According to Ethereum 2.0 Beacon chain explorer, about 11.5 million ETH has been staked, since the official deposit contract went live in November of 2020. This represents about 9.5% of ETH’s circulating supply staked, given there is presently 120.5 million ETH in circulation, as per Coinmarketcap. 

From the staked coins, there are 360,673 active validators on the Beacon chain and 14,910 validators pending. A user needs to stake at least 32 ETH, approximately $91,200, in order to become a validator on the network. The outcome of validation in Ethereum 2.0 is similar to mining, however, the processes are not the same. 

While miners use extensive computing power to achieve consensus, validators are only required to lock or delegate a certain amount of ETH for the same purpose. At the moment, the current version of Ethereum functions with the help of miners (i.e., Proof-of-Work). However, the network is preparing to transition to the latter phase, where it can be more scalable and secure. 

When in Ethereum 2.0 merge?

In recent months, Ethereum underwent several major upgrades to prepare the network ahead of the merge with the Beacon Chain. However, there hasn’t been any specific date given for the complete transition, although it could happen this year, according to a developer. 

The merge was expected to happen later in the third quarter of 2022. However, an Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko hinted it might be delayed. He stated in March that “It won’t be in June, but likely in the few months after. No firm date yet, but we’re definitely in the final chapter of PoW on Ethereum.” 

Several improvements have been made to the current version of the network, especially EIP-1559, to keep the blockchain usable with a modest fee structure until Ethereum 2.0 or Serenity launches.