Ethereum Developers Propose Increasing Validator Limit to 2,048 Ether

During a recent Ethereum core developer consensus meeting, a proposal was put forward to increase the maximum amount of staked Ether (ETH) required to become a validator on the Ethereum network. The plan is to raise the limit from the current 32 ETH to 2048 ETH, which represents a 64-fold increase.

However, the minimum staking amount will remain unchanged at 32 ETH. The proposal aims to address concerns about the increasing size of the validator set and inflation. The researcher who presented the proposal believes that this significant increase will lead to greater efficiency in the Ethereum network over time. In addition to the change in the staked ETH requirement, the researcher also suggested implementing auto-compounding validator rewards.

By implementing auto-compounding of rewards, validators on the Ethereum network would have the opportunity to earn more income from their staked ETH. Currently, any rewards exceeding the 32 ETH cap need to be transferred to another account to generate staking income. If the cap were increased as proposed, validators would have a practical means of compounding their rewards and increasing their earnings.

This change would not only enhance the efficiency of the Ethereum network but also benefit large node operators, including exchanges that manage numerous validators. The current limit of 32 ETH has resulted in a significant rise in validator addresses, with over 700,000 validators and approximately 90,000 in the activation queue, following Ethereum's shift to a proof-of-stake network.

Sources:

https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/ethereum-devs-discuss-increasing--staking-limit-of-validators-by-64x-3108380

https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-validators-may-have-to-stake-2048-eth-devs-discuss

https://headtopics.com/us/ethereum-validators-may-have-to-stake-64x-more-eth-devs-discuss-40370073

https://beincrypto.com/insights-ethereum-devs-latest-meeting/