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Ethereum‘s core developers deliberated a proposal to increase the maximum stake per validator from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH in the recent core developer consensus meeting. This limit is currently set at both the minimum and maximum stake for Ethereum validators. This restriction hinders large-scale staking transactions and forces those wishing to profit from a larger amount to create multiple validators. Not surprisingly, the existing practice has led to a significant increase in the number of validators. According to current numbers, there are 600,000 active validators on the network, with an additional 90,000 validators waiting in queue to be activated.
Maximum Stake of 32 ETH per Validator May Increase to 2,48 ETH
During the latest Ethereum core developer consensus meeting on June 16, researcher Michael Neuder of the Ethereum Foundation explained this increase. He argued that although the current validator stake limit encourages decentralization, it unintentionally causes inflation in the number of validators. Neuder suggested that raising the upper limit of the validator stake could slow the rise in the number of active validators, potentially improving network efficiency in terms of achieving certainty within a single Ethereum slot.
According to Neuder, the proposed cap could also enable the automatic combination of validator rewards. At present, rewards earned beyond the 32 ETH limit are redirected elsewhere to yield any stake return. If the cap is raised, these rewards could be immediately combined, providing an effective tool for validators to earn more from their staked ETH. The proposal also claims to alleviate operational concerns for larger node operators, including crypto exchanges like Coinbase that currently host tens of thousands of validators due to the current maximum stake of 32 ETH per validator.
Raising the Maximum Share Could Solve Many Other Problems
Raising the maximum stake per validator would allow such operators to manage fewer, but higher-staked validators, potentially reducing complexity. However, Neuder warned of associated risks, including potentially higher penalties for accidental double endorsements or proposals, also known as slashing. The proposal continues to be debated among core developers who have agreed to discuss the implementation details of the proposal further on social platforms such as ETHMagicians and Discord.
