Ethereum 2.0 Deposit Contract Tops $5.5B in Staked Ether

The deposit contract for the Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain – the epicenter of Ethereum’s new architecture – now holds over 3,000,000 ETH, worth over $5.5 billion at current prices.

• Per data from Etherescan, there are some 3,062,210 ETH locked in the contract.
• The contract launched at the beginning of November and within three weeks it had secured the necessary threshold of ETH to lock in the Beacon Chain’s launch, which took place in the first week of December.
• The Beacon Chain is a bridge network between the current Ethereum network and Ethereum 2.0; when the time comes, the Beacon Chain will help “dock” the current mainnet onto 2.0 to ensure the network’s complete migration.
• Unlike the current Ethereum blockchain, Ethereum 2.0 uses proof-of-stake where “validators” replace miners to process transactions.
• To earn the title of validator, an Ethereum user must stake 32 ETH into the deposit contract through a validator node.
• Exchanges like Kraken and Coinbase and wallets like MyEtherWallet also facilitate custodial staking for their clients by running a validator node on their behalf. Coinbase (whose staking is forthcoming) and Kraken allow users to stake any amount, not just the 32 ETH required by Ethereum 2.0's rules.