This year, the Ethereum network officially transitioned to a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm, leaving proof of work forever behind.
One of the multiple implications of The Merge on the protocol is that there are no more Ethereum miners. Validators are securing the network now, and the path to becoming one is supposed to be extremely simplified – deposit 32 ETH into the staking contract and run the appropriate software.
But it turns out there’s quite a queue for validators lined up, and becoming one can take a while.
45 days to become an Ethereum validator
You read that right – if you have ETH to spare and want to invest in securing the network and earn rewards for this important task, you will have to wait… a lot.
It seems that becoming a validator is something so sought after that the queue keeps getting longer.
Data from WenMerge show that there are 92,536 validators currently waiting to enter the network. It will take about 45 days to clean.
The competition is so high, and it seems like hardly anyone wants to come out. The output queue currently consists of only 4 validators.
Celsius enters the queue
The embattled cryptocurrency lender is part of the reason the queue is lengthened.
Over the past two days, Celsius Network has transferred some $600 million worth of ETH into the staking contract and this rate shows no signs of slowing down, according to Arkham Intelligence.
Celsius is taking steps to stake all of the ETH they currently hold, representing moves totaling nearly $1 billion in on-chain flows.
In the past 24 hours, they have staked over $600 million worth of ETH, with their deposit rate showing no signs of slowing down. 👇 pic.twitter.com/8bW3xB15UH
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) June 2, 2023
At current prices, the above is made up of approximately 316K ETH added to the validator’s entry queue.
Remember that in April, CryptoPotato reported that major US-based cryptocurrency exchanges – Coinbase and Gemini – have joined the bid for the lender’s assets.
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