Long-Term Confidence in ETH Grows as Staking Reaches Record Levels
Despite the rise in staking, Ethereum's price has faced recent downward pressure, and is currently hovering around $2,400. Meanwhile, crypto platform Bison launched insured Ethereum staking, offering added protection for users. Bloomberg's ETF analyst Eric Balchunas also recently faced backlash over an X post spreading claims about Ethereum’s security, which the community quickly criticized as misinformation. In other news, Binance is set to list the native token of Ethereum Layer 2 network Scroll, SCR, for pre-market trading.
Ether Staking Surges
Ethereum’s long-term prospects seem very promising as almost a third of all ETH has now been staked. This indicates that tokenholders have a strong interest in both the asset and the rewards tied to staking. On Oct. 8, on-chain data provider IntoTheBlock shared that 28.9% of all ETH has been staked. This is a noticeable increase from the 23.8% in January.
It also means that an additional 5.1% of the total ETH supply was staked over the last ten months. IntoTheBlock also pointed out that 15.3% of the staked ETH has been locked up for over three years, which is a sign of long-term confidence in Ethereum’s future as well.
Despite this increased staking activity, Ethereum’s price has faced some downward pressure. ETH did perform well in the first half of 2024, but the token has struggled over the past few weeks.
Ethereum’s price over the past year (Source: CoinMarketCap)
In March, ETH reached a yearly high, but its price has since dropped and is currently hovering around $2,400. Analysts attribute the recent decline to selling pressure from early investors and a lack of demand for Ethereum spot exchange-traded funds.
Meanwhile, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently expressed his support for reducing the minimum requirements for solo staking. On Oct. 3, Buterin joined a discussion on X, and acknowledged that the current 32 ETH requirement, which is worth close to $80,000, might discourage broader participation. While staking pools allow users with fewer funds to stake, Buterin’s comments shed some light on the need for more accessible solo staking options to encourage broader involvement in Ethereum’s staking ecosystem.
Bison Launches Insured Ethereum Staking
Bison, a crypto trading platform that is owned by the Böerse Stuttgart Group, launched an insured staking service for Ethereum users that allows customers to stake as little as 0.005 ETH and earn weekly rewards. The initiative is backed by German companies, including the global reinsurance firm Munich Re, which provides security against common risks in crypto staking.
Through partnerships with Munich Re and German staking provider Staking Facilities, Bison offers insured ETH staking that protects users from the primary risk of “slashing,” which can result in the loss of staked ETH due to improper validator actions. The insurance also covers operational errors, technical failures, and fraud, offering users added peace of mind when staking their assets. All of the assets staked through Bison’s platform are managed by Böerse Stuttgart Digital Custody, which is licensed by Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority.
Börse Stuttgart Digital, the group’s crypto division, also recently partnered with DZ Bank on Sept. 19 to provide crypto trading and custody services. This partnership will make it possible for approximately 700 cooperative banks under DZ Bank’s umbrella to offer digital asset access to retail customers for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum. The roll-out is expected to start later this year, with select clients testing the new services.
