Ethereum core developers plan to implement a 64-fold increase in the minimum amount of Ether staked (ETH), which is required for you to become a validator, from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH.
The proposal was made during the Ethereum Core Developer Consensus on June 15 Meeting by Ethereum Foundation researcher Michael Neuder. The researcher noted that although the current limit of 32 ETH allows more validators to join the Ethereum network, making it more decentralized, it also leads to inflation of the size of the validator pool.
Neuder added that such a large increase would ultimately help the Ethereum network become more efficient over time. In addition to the proposal to increase the minimum required ETH stake for validators, Neuder also called for rewards for auto-stacking validators.
Automatic compounding of rewards would allow validators to earn more money on their staked ETH. Currently, in order to receive any staking income, rewards received above the 32 ETH limit must be transferred to another account. These benefits could multiply quickly if the cap were raised, giving verifiers a practical way to increase their reward.
Neuder claimed that the current proposal will not only make the Ethereum network more efficient and allow validators to earn more money, but will also help large node operators such as exchanges that currently manage thousands of validators.
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The 32 ETH limit led to a significant increase in validator addresses after Ethereum moved to proof-of-stake Sew. There are currently over 700,000 validators, with roughly 90,000 waiting to be activated in the queue.
The proposal drew mixed reactions from the crypto community, with several users pointing out that such a significant change in ETH staked would lead to fewer validators and thus make the network more centralized. Other users rejected the idea, arguing that it would not benefit the network.
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