Weekly Ethereum Staking Deposits Hit Record Low Just Weeks Before Merge

The number of weekly ETH deposits sent to the beacon chain hit an all-time low less than a month before Ethereum transitioned to proof-of-stake, according to Dune Analytics. The reasons for the recent drop are varied, from speculators betting on new airdrops to others worried that the merger won't go as planned.

 

 

Hildebert Moulié, a data scientist at Dragonfly Capital who goes by the pseudonym Hildobby on Twitter, told Decrypt that the sharp drop in the number of weekly ethereum deposits into the Beacon chain could be related to speculation.

For example, some investors may think short-term returns could be higher if they only hold their tokens in the hope of getting some ETHPOW — a cryptocurrency that may have been driven by a controversial merger attempt via an ethereum hard fork produced by resistance.

On Lido, the leading Ethereum staking service accounts for over 30% of the staking market, and players can earn 3.9% on their Ethereum. However, when doing so, they may miss the airdrop if the network forks. Even the possibility of missing out on such a bounty can be prohibitive for newcomers.

 

Moulié also hinted that the recent drop suggests that those who want to bet have already, highlighting the fact that more than 11% of Ethereum’s total circulating supply has already staked.

Afterwards, he told Decrypt, "Others may want to wait after the merge to make sure there aren't any issues by then". So far, various Ethereum testnets have successfully merged; but that doesn’t mean the rollout of the biggest network upgrade ever is a sure thing.

Finally, Moulié noted that market dynamics have been “very bad lately” and could deter those considering fleeing ETH.

 

 

When Ethereum Merge?

 

The second-largest cryptocurrency will transition from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to a greener proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism next month, and the much-anticipated event dubbed the merger will draw a lot of attention.

The Beacon Chain — the new network’s PoS-based coordination mechanism — has been running alongside Ethereum’s current mainnet since December 2020, when investors were first invited to deposit their tokens to act as validators. The total amount of ETH currently stored on the Beacon chain exceeds 13.3 million, accounting for 11.18% of the circulating supply of Ethereum.

However, the number of weekly ETH deposits has been steadily declining since the beginning of May, recently hitting a new all-time low. Only 12,377 deposits were made to the Beacon Chain in the week ending Aug. 22 — in stark contrast to over 500,000 deposits in the week ending March 14.

 

source : https://dailycrypto.us.com 

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