Crypto staking or committing your assets to support a blockchain network and confirm transactions has been practised by many platforms with multiple chains. In fact, Ethereum 2.0 was triggered by staking massive amounts of ETH onto the smart contract.
The rumours of the SEC banning crypto staking for retail traders have disturbed the crypto space. The CEO of Coinbase, Brain Armstrong was the first one to report. According to dune analysis, Coinbase is the third largest depositor while Lido and other platforms are fighting for the top position.
Coinbase was one of the platforms which were largely benefitted from the Ethereum Merge as the platform had taken strong measures in a bid to maximize the value of ETH staking for its clients.
The ban on the staking has come as a shock and moreover, in the times when Ethereum, the highest staking chain is proceeding towards a major upgrade. The network just released the Shapella fork on the Zhejiang testnet. If all goes well, then the testnet will be launched on the Gorili too.
Therefore, what may happen if ETH staking is banned ahead of the Shanghai hard fork, which is scheduled in the second half of 2023?
If in case the rumours stand true, then wither the retail traders may stop staking or stake with non-US exchanges. Due to the ongoing Ripple vs SEC case, the US traders are already deprived of XRP trading and this may also prevent them from staking. The number of validators may reduce or the chains may delegate decentralized validators.
While many oppose it, the founder of IOHK, Charles Hoskinson, believes Ethereum staking is more centralized and hence problematic. Cardano has self-custodial delegated staking, and hence it is believed to shine with its decentralized validator army.
Source: https://coinpedia.org/ethereum/will-cardano-benefit-if-ethereum-staking-is-banned-ahead-of-the-shanghai-hard-fork/