The Ethereum network is currently witnessing a surge in interest following the recent Shanghai upgrade, which has expanded the options for holders of Ethereum (ETH). This has resulted in an uptick in the number of people staking their ETH in beacon deposit contracts, an indication of the growing confidence in the Ethereum blockchain since the upgrade.

Since the Shanghai upgrade, the quantity of staked ETH has been increasing at a swift pace. This growth recently hit a peak, breaking previous records and suggesting that Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake (PoS) has been received positively by the market.

New Era For Ethereum

The amount of Ethereum staked has now hit an all-time high (ATH), surpassing 25.8 million ETH, equivalent to a value of over $48 billion, according to the latest data shared by blockchain and crypto industry analytics platform, CryptoRank.

This development has caused quite a stir in the crypto community and provides insight into the evolving dynamics of the Ethereum blockchain. Just a month earlier, in late May, the Ethereum deposit contract balance had crossed the $40 billion mark.

This upward movement underscores the effectiveness of the new features introduced during Ethereum’s transition from the proof-of-work (PoW) to the PoS consensus mechanism after the Merge upgrade.

Furthermore, the impact of the Shanghai upgrade on the Ethereum ecosystem has been profound. The surge in the Ethereum staking ratio since the upgrade is indicative of growing interest and faith in the Ethereum blockchain’s potential. 

This, in turn, reflects on the success of the Shanghai upgrade and the Merge in aligning ETH with market expectations and needs.

While the influx of staked ETH steadily rises, Ethereum’s creator, Vitalik Buterin, has recently expressed concerns regarding the potential strain this could put on the network’s consensus. In a recent blog post, he urged caution, stating, “Don’t overload Ethereum’s consensus.”

Buterin went on to emphasize that utilizing Ethereum’s consensus for diverse functions could introduce elevated systemic threats to the ecosystem and should be actively discouraged. Despite this cautionary advice, there has been no decrease in ETH staking activity, only a consistent increase.

ETH Continous Upward Trend

Over the past 24 hours, ETH has seen a slightly bullish trend, up by 1.4%. The second-largest crypto asset by market capitalization has surged from trading below $1,700 earlier this month to trading as high as $1,890, at the time of writing.

Notably, the asset tapped and traded above $1,900 earlier today before slightly retracing to a 24-low of $1,843. Meanwhile, ETH has recorded more than $20 billion added to its market cap over the past two weeks. ETH trading volume has also surged over the same period indicating a rising trading activity.

Featured image from Shutterstock, Chart from TradingView