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The cryptocurrency Ether (ETH) hits the one million validator milestone with 32 million Ether currently staked. This 32 million is valued at around $114 billion according to current market prices.<\/p>\n
According to one report on Cointelegraph<\/a>\u00a0\u201cthe network achieved a validator count of one million, with the 32 million ETH staked accounting for 26% of the total supply.\u201d<\/p>\n The CEO of BlackRock, Larry Fink, caused a surge in the price of Ethereum this week after his comments on a recent interview panel. Fink said<\/a> that designating ETH as a security won\u2019t be \u201cdeleterious.\u201d<\/p>\n After Fink\u2019s comments, the value of Ether would rise to $3,658. We covered<\/a> BlackRock\u2019s application for an ETH exchange-traded fund last year.<\/p>\n The staking platform Lido saw 30% of the total ETH in play and allows investors in the cryptocurrency to stake in smaller amounts as part of a collective.<\/p>\n This collective then takes part in the staking process (which has a maximum effective staking 32ETH limit) and their presence helps to approve transactions. For playing their part these validators get a small reward in the shape of ETH.<\/p>\n Not all onlookers are happy to see the number of validators increase as they believe it could bring issues with transactions. Investors such as Evan Van Ness took to X to share his concerns on the increase in the number of validators:<\/p>\n Definitely not, arguably already too much staked<\/p>\n \u2014 Evan Van Ness \ud83e\uddc9 (@evan_van_ness) March 27, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Gabriel Weide, who runs a staking pool, responded to Van Ness\u2019 post saying that too many validators can lead to \u201cfailed transactions.\u201d<\/p>\n The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has tabled several legal challenges against cryptocurrency operators for their practices. Ethereum isn\u2019t escaping this scrutiny<\/a> as we reported earlier this month.<\/p>\n SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has been vocal about his and the regulator\u2019s stance on cryptocurrency operators, speaking recently at Columbia Law School<\/a> saying \u201cThere are participants in crypto securities markets that seek to avoid these (SEC) registration requirements. No registration means no mandatory disclosure. Many would agree that the crypto markets could use a little disinfectant.\u201d<\/p>\n The SEC is currently locked in legal battles with Coinbase, which is set to move to a trial date. U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla wrote<\/a> that \u201cthe Court finds the SEC has sufficiently pleaded that Coinbase operates as an exchange, as a broker, and as a clearing agency under the federal securities laws, and, through its Staking Program, engages in the unregistered offer and sale of securities.\u201d<\/p>\n As we reported last week, the government regulator is also seeking $2bn penalties from Ripple Labs<\/a>.<\/p>\nEthereum reaches landmark<\/h2>\n
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