Ethereum developers are discussing a proposal to raise the validator limit from 32 Ether (ETH) to 2,048 Ether – a 6,300% increase. This would be a drastic change from the current limit, and is being considered due to the bump in waiting times and the sheer amount of interest in spinning up Ethereum validator nodes. The proposal was first floated in early June by Ethereum developers Mike Neuder, Francesco D’Amato, Aditya Asgaonkar, and Justin Drake.
Validators are entities in a proof-of-stake blockchain, such as Ethereum, that process transactions and help maintain the overall security of such networks. Data shows the current waiting time for a user to run a validator node on Ethereum is 44 days, up from nearly a month in May. This strong demand is likely stemming from large Ether holders, who do not want to cash out and instead just want to earn some passive income on their holdings.
The proposal is still under debate and isn’t actively being worked on as of Monday. If the proposal is accepted, it would force large entities, such as Lido or staking services offered by crypto exchanges, to spin up multiple validator nodes to offer staking yield services to users.