- Staking deposits drop before Shapella
- SEC increases pressure on Ethereum
- Lido dominates, giants lose share
Ethereum Staking Dips Amid Regulatory Storm and Shapella Upgrade
Ethereum’s staking ecosystem is experiencing a downturn in deposit activities, according to data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode. The decline has been attributed to increasing regulatory pressure and the impending Shapella upgrade, scheduled for April 12.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ramped up its scrutiny of the cryptocurrency industry, with Ether in its crosshairs as a potential security. This heightened focus on Ethereum $ 2,321.19 -0.95% has resulted in a crackdown on staking activities, despite the absence of official legislation from Congress.
Simultaneously, the Ethereum network is gearing up for the much-anticipated Shapella hard fork, also known as the Shanghai hard fork. This upgrade will facilitate the phased release of ETH staked on the Beacon Chain, further impacting staking deposits.
Glassnode’s data also highlighted a shift in market share within the staking ecosystem. Major centralized exchanges, including Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken, have seen a loss of market share to liquid staking platform Lido. “As the dust settled between the three giants, it was Lido who emerged victorious, continuing to dominate deposit inflows as of present,” the firm reported.
With regulatory pressure and the Shapella upgrade both playing a role, Ethereum staking deposits have seen a temporary dip. However, it remains to be seen how these factors will impact the overall ecosystem in the long term.
In other news, Soulja Boy, an American rapper, announced a new NFT collection that sold out within minutes of opening bids on the premier NFT marketplace OpenSea.
