Validators on the Ethereum network are seeing a rush of Ether token holders staking their tokens, resulting in the highest level of deposit activity since the Shapella upgrade last month.
The total volume of staked crypto-assets has now exceeded 20 million, a milestone reached a month after the Ethereum Shanghai upgrade which brought in a record-breaking weekly inflow of staked Ether deposits.
“It has only been a month since Ethereum’s Shapella Upgrade. Since then, the total volume of $ETH staked has surpassed 20 million.”
The Shanghai upgrade enabled the withdrawal of tokens previously locked up in staking contracts for the first time, a crucial step towards the network’s move to validating transactions through staking instead of mining.
The recent influx of staked Ether appears to have been fueled by institutional staking service providers and investors reinvesting rewards after withdrawal. One Ethereum whale, who hadn’t been active in over two years, staked 4,032 ETH worth nearly $7.4 million, according to Lookonchain.
Lido Finance, a major staking platform, has taken center stage since the success of Shapella and allows users to stake any amount instead of depositing directly to the mainnet, which requires a minimum deposit of 32 ETH. Lido Finance deployed its v2 iteration on May 15th after passing an on-chain vote. Despite being one of the largest liquid staking protocols on Ethereum, Lido has only processed 0.42% of withdrawals so far.
