Ethereum’s (ETH) staking ecosystem has made headlines in the blockchain space since the recent Shanghai upgrade. As the crypto market continues to grow, Ethereum has emerged as a market leader in staking, offering some of the best yields and attracting more investors. But what exactly makes Ethereum’s staking so attractive?
Ethereum Staking Goes Big
to DeFi Ignas, a leading expert in decentralized finance (DeFi), Ethereum’s ETH has the best token economics in crypto. One of the main reasons for this is Ethereum’s decision to move away from the Proof of Work (PoW) to a Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.
He suggests that If Ethereum had remained on PoW, $4.7 billion worth of ETH would have been issued, more than the entire market cap of UNI, Uniswap’s native token, at $4 billion. This move has made Ethereum supply deflationary, creating a more valuable asset for investors.
However, as DeFi Ignas points out, Ethereum’s staking ratio currently stands at just 14.8%, the lowest among major blockchains. This is despite offering a competitive ~4.5% APR. One reason for this low staking ratio is that other blockchains have a more concentrated token distribution, with insiders, team members, and early investors actively staking for rewards.
According to DeFi Ignas, recent data suggests that the staking landscape is shifting, with some major players losing market share and a significant amount of ETH being withdrawn from staking platforms. In particular, Kraken, Coinbase, and Huobi have all seen a decline in their market share in the past month. Furthermore, 36% of all ETH staking withdrawals originate from Kraken.
It’s worth noting that when there are more withdrawals than deposits, it typically indicates a bearish sentiment among investors, as they sell their holdings in larger quantities than they are buying. This is further supported by the fact that around 40% of all ETH stakers have a negative ETH PnL, meaning they are holding ETH at a loss.
However, there is a silver lining to this data. According to DeFi Ignas, 29% of all ETH stakers have staked their ETH at the current price, which suggests that there are still many investors who believe in the long-term potential of ETH and are willing to hold onto their investments despite short-term market fluctuations, which for him, this is a bullish sign for the future of Ethereum staking.
ETH Staking, The Best Risk/Reward Option For Financial Freedom?
According to DeFi Ignas, Ethereum staking is poised to overtake decentralized exchanges (DEXes) by total value locked (TVL), with just 15% of all ETH currently staked across 83 protocols.
Also, despite being a relatively new industry, the Liquidity Staking Derivative (LSD) ecosystem has already surpassed lending, bridging, and CDP stablecoins in terms of TVL, and it’s expected to continue growing in the future.
Additionally, Distributed Validator Technology (DVT), which enables “squad staking” by allowing groups to stake different amounts of ETH collectively, is another trend gaining traction in the Ethereum staking ecosystem.
On the same note, the prominent crypto analyst McKenna has stated in a recent Twitter that Ethereum’s staking rate has increased from 14.15% to 14.93% post-Shanghai, and this trend is expected to continue. McKenna predicts that ETH staking will become a major sink, with a staking rate close to 20% by the end of the year.
The increase in staking is also a bullish sign for the future of Ethereum, as it demonstrates the community’s commitment to the network and its success. As more funds are locked in staking, the circulating supply of ETH decreases, creating a scarcity that could potentially drive up the asset’s price.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com