TL;DR

• Ethereum’s once-crowded queue for new validators has almost completely cleared out, hitting 0 at one point yesterday.

• In June, validators were getting a juicy 5.2% return on their ​staked​ ETH. Today, it's a mere 3.5%.

• Also, the government bond yields are high right now, with short-term U.S. treasury notes yielding 5.35%.

Full Story

Q: How do you convince everyday people to help make sure transactions on the Ethereum network are secure?

A: You pay 'em!

It's worked like a charm over the past eight years - to such an extent in fact that it's created a queue of people waiting to become transaction validators.

(There’s a limit of 3,600 validators allowed to enter the validation process per day).

But all good things must come to an end. Ethereum’s once-crowded queue for new validators has almost completely cleared out, hitting 0 at one point yesterday.

(Zero - zip - zilch!)

The number of validators has since risen back to 996, but it's still a far cry from its peak on June 10, when over 96,500 validators patiently waited in a 45 day-long queue.

So, what's happening here?

Well, first off, the rewards aren't what they used to be.

In June, validators were getting a juicy 5.2% return on their ​staked​ ETH. Today, it's a mere 3.5%.

(Which doesn't seem like much, but for validators, it's like going from sipping champagne in the penthouse to sharing a box of wine in the basement).

Second, the government bond yields are high right now, with short-term U.S. treasury notes yielding 5.35%.

Meaning staking ETH (a high-risk asset) is now less lucrative than the world's safest-most-boring way of earning yield: buying government bonds.

Ok...should we be worried?

Eh, not really.

Volatility in price, demand, and general interest is all par for the course in the crypto world.

Yields will fluctuate. Validators will come and go. The sun will rise tomorrow.