Ethereum 2.0 deposits at 10% of launch threshold as deadline approaches

The deposit contract for Ethereum 2.0 now holds 50,849 Ether (ETH), worth approximately $22 million as of publication time.

This is slightly less than 10% of the minimum required stake of 524,288 ETH, or $230 million. Ethereum 2.0 is set to launch on Dec. 1 — but only if the minimum stake threshold is reached seven days before that date.

The influx of new deposits appears to have tapered off recently as the majority of prospective stakers joined within the first three days of launch.

Ethereum 2.0 stakers must go through a dedicated launchpad to register validators with a 32 ETH stake each. While the same person or entity can stake more, they must set up multiple validators to do so.

Staking yields are expected to be below 10%, but that number largely depends on the number of active stakers. As they will compete for the same rewards, new participants will lower the returns for others.

Most notably, Ethereum 2.0 deposits cannot be withdrawn or used until some time between the implementation of Phase 1 and Phase 2, which may take years.

This may be a significant deterrent for onboarding, as stakers will sacrifice liquidity for relatively low yields and an uncertain lockup period. An informal poll held by Taylor Monahan, CEO of MyCrypto, seems to suggest that the majority of users would not consider it a worthwhile investment.

The Ethereum community has another two weeks left to reach the deposit threshold before the launch is delayed. While progress has been relatively slow so far, this may change quickly.