IN BRIEF
- Ethereum staked now totals more than 700K ETH.
- Beacon Chain becomes the sixth largest PoS chain even before its launch.
- ETH prices have dropped below $600.
Now that the milestone has been reached, Ethereum 2.0 can be officially launched as planned on 1 December. This step has propelled the blockchain to position itself as one of the world’s largest proof-of-stake networks, even before it goes live.
The bet on the ETH 2.0 deposit contract has jumped by more than 700,000 ETH, meaning that the 524,000 threshold has been passed and the countdown to the genesis of the beacon chain has now begun. With more than 22,000 validators, the launch date of 1 December has been set and time is running out.
As Crypto Revolt reports, several major companies and organisations have already committed to support the next iteration of the world’s largest smart contracting network. More than 2000 unique Ethereum addresses have made deposits into the contract according to Dune Analytics.
Sixth largest PoS blockchain
Even before it is put on the main network, Beacon Chain is one of the world’s largest proof-of-stake blockchains. Contributing to Defiant’s latest newsletter, industry insider Cooper Turley said;
„As a perspective, the number of Eth2 applicants and validators is already higher than the number of validators on some of the major proof-of-participation chains, including Tezos, Cosmos and Polkadot“.
In the case of rival platform Polkadot, there are over 7000 nominators delegating their tokens to validators, but it is unlikely that ETH 2.0 will take long to catch up. Turley added that the number will change at next week’s launch, as 900 validators per day may be added after genesis.
A total of 688,000 ETHs (approximately $412 million) deposited into the ETH 2.0 contract would make Ethereum the sixth largest outlet chain in terms of assets staked according to Staking Rewards.
Turley added that the prompt filing of nearly half of the staking requirements in the last two days sends a strong signal;
„With more than 50% of the staked balance filed in the last 48 hours, this milestone marks a major vote of confidence in Ethereum’s most gruelling upgrade to date taking place in at least four phases over what is expected to be at least two years,“ he said.
Prospects for ETH courses
At the time of printing, Ethereum prices were declining from a peak of $620 where there was long-term resistance in the 2018 cycle. Prices had fallen below the 50-hour moving average to $590 as the correction appears to be gaining momentum.
It is natural for markets to cool following such intense price action, however, Ethereum’s long-term outlook has just improved with a glimmer of hope for holders who have endured its two-year bear market.
