More than 1.1 million test Ether (ETH) tokens are now staked by validators on Ethereum 2.0’s Medalla test network. Validator participation is trending at 74 percent, which is well above the 66 percent threshold.
The average staking balance of 32 ETH has been maintained by validators, who are now almost 38,000. This comes amidst the total USD value locked in DeFi nearing $8 billion.
Ethereum 2.0 Testnet Experiences Surge in Staking and Confidence
Last week CryptoPotato reported that validator participation in Eth2’s Medalla test net is wobbly and sinusoidal. The average participation has gone up and now stands at 74 percent. This is significantly above the 66 percent threshold level.
The test network now has almost 38,000 active validators, and collectively they have staked more than 1.1 million test ETH to validate Medalla.
Blocks are being added like clockwork, and validators are already earning returns for their staked ETH.
Staking Security and Confidence To Gradually Improve
ETH staking confidence is high for Medalla at the current moment. But since it is a test network, depositors can encounter a variety of issues. Code changes and rollbacks shouldn’t be a problem in such a scenario since there wouldn’t be a real value exchange of any sort.
It is a big move for Ethereum as the public blockchain is changing consensus protocols from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS). So, it will take some time before users and community participants can acquaint themselves with the workings of the new set up.
That said, with the shift to the main net, both staking security and confidence will become much better.
Total Value Locked in DeFi Nearing $8 Billion
It seems like 2017 all over again, when activity in the Ethereum ecosystem was booming. It was ICOs then. Now it’s DeFi.
As of writing, the total amount of USD value locked in DeFi is on the verge of hitting the $8 billion mark.
Decentralized exchange Uniswap has recorded a 50 percent spike in asset deposition in the last 24 hours. Yearn Finance is also contributing to this growth, as the protocol’s native token YFI has surpassed Bitcoin’s buying price exponentially. It is now trading at $32,246 with BitMEX’s Arthur Hayes commenting that it will soon do a $100K.
YFI’s market cap and daily volume numbers are nearing the $1 billion mark as the ‘yield farming’ craze, and its token price going beyond Bitcoin’s last ATH created serious FOMO amongst investors.
Given the upcoming move to Eth2 and the ongoing DeFi circus, will Ethereum again cause markets to swell this year, just like 2017? That remains to be seen.
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