Ethereum developers consider raising validator limit from 32 ETH

• Ethereum Foundation researcher Michael Neuder outlined the proposal during a core developer meeting.
• The proposal seeks to raise the validator stake limit from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, an increase that would be 64x.
• Core developers are considering the proposal.

Ethereum Foundation researcher Michael Neuder has proposed that Ethereum’s validator balance cap be increased from the current 32 ETH.

The proposal is under consideration by core developers and if approved could see those looking to be validators on the world’s largest proof-of-stake network required to have 2,048 ETH, a balance that would be 64 times higher than the current limit.

Raise ETH limit and auto-compounding of rewards

According to Neuder, while the 32 ETH limit works towards more decentralisation of the Ethereum network, increasing it not only helps lower the size of the validator set, but will also ultimately bring more efficiency to the leading altcoin. 

Large validators, such exchanges and institutions will find it easy to manage their operations given the reduction such an increase from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH would occasion.

With the 32 ETH limit, entities that run as validators had to increase the number of validator nodes they operate for them to have sufficient stake. But with more people eyeing the staking rewards, the number of Ethereum validators has remained high even after the Shapella upgrade.

Currently, Ethereum has over 700,000 validators, and a further 90,000 are looking to join the set.

Also part of the proposal is the idea of having staking rewards auto-compounded. This means instead of requiring any ETH above the current cap moved to another account, the rewards could be compounded to have validators earn higher staking income.

While core Ethereum developers debated the likely pitfalls of implementing such a change, the agreement was for continued discussions. Notably, the proposal seeks to increase the limit, but the minimum stake will remain 32 ETH.