Ethereum is about to undergo a transformation, how to participate in the node ecosystem?

Ethereum has been in operation for over five years since its inception, and its 2.0 version is rapidly approaching, transitioning from proof of work to proof of stake. Currently, miners maintain the Ethereum network in exchange for rewards, but in the future, rewards will be based on the amount of coins held.

Compared to mining, Proof of Stake (PoS) is more energy-efficient and effectively reduces the inflation rate of Ethereum. This article will introduce how to participate in the Ethereum node ecosystem in the future, which will be a significant change for the Ethereum network and its users.

Proof of Stake (PoS)
PoS rewards participants based on the amount of coins they hold. The more coins held, the higher the probability of gaining the right to validate transactions. To participate in the Ethereum node ecosystem, users must stake Ether. This allows users to participate in network maintenance, package transaction messages, and receive rewards.

However, the exact return rate is not yet determined. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin recently proposed setting the annual return rate between 1.5% and 18%, depending on the total amount of Ether in the network.

Lead developer Justin Drake suggested increasing the validator's return rate by 5%. He noted that gas fees and currency inflation must be considered.

Minimum Participation Amount
According to the current plan, to join the node ecosystem, a minimum of 32 Ether is required. Fortunately, there is no need to spend a lot of money on hardware like mining rigs. Drake suggests that most budget laptops can run the software. Users need to ensure a stable internet connection.

Even with a limited budget, users can choose staking service providers like RocketPool to participate in the node ecosystem on behalf of users. Users do not need to be online all the time, and the minimum stake can be as low as 1 Ether. However, due to related fees, the return will be lower than individual participation.

Organizations such as Stake Capital, Staked, Stake.fish, and Staking Facilities are also planning to launch Ethereum staking services next year.

In addition, reports indicate that in May of this year, Prysmatic Labs launched a staking test system to help users understand the Ethereum 2.0 ecosystem in advance. Although the testnet ETH rewarded by test nodes has no real value, Prysmatic Labs still encourages Ethereum users to participate.

How Ethereum 1.0 and 2.0 Will Collaborate
After the consensus mechanism goes live, Ethereum 1.0 and 2.0 will work in parallel. Miners can still mine on Ethereum 1.0, but rewards will gradually decrease. In fact, this year's Constantinople upgrade has already reduced miner rewards from 3ETH to 2ETH. Drake suggests reducing mining rewards, i.e., token issuance, by ten times over the next few years, depending on the price of Ether.

In the future, Ethereum 2.0 will take on more responsibilities. In addition to efficiency issues with transaction throughput, it must also overcome regulatory challenges related to its asset properties, with the hope of realizing its vision of becoming the "world computer" in many years to come.

Further Reading

• Bitcoin's total transaction fees in history are about to exceed one billion US dollars
• Bittrex officially switches USDT to ERC-20 based on the Ethereum network

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