- Phase 0 of Ethereum 2.0 is set for a December 1 launch after the staking contract was filled with nine hours to go
- More than 230,000 ETH was transferred to the deposit contract in the last 24 hours
- The beach chain genesis can now go ahead next week
Ethereum 2.0 is set for a Phase 0 launch on December 1 after the deposit contract was filled early Tuesday. After a slow start, the target of 524,288 ETH was reached yesterday, meaning that the Ethereum 2.0 beacon chain can launch as anticipated next Tuesday, marking the next stage in Ethereum 2.0’s development, and the biggest so far.
230,000 ETH Transferred in Last 24 Hours
The Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract was opened to contributors on November 4, with those wishing to stake their Ethereum able to send their funds to the contract through the dedicated Launchpad. The initial uptake was slow, with the contract only 20% full at the halfway point, but a recent surge in the final 24 hours saw more than 230,000 ETH submitted since yesterday, with the full amount being confirmed with just nine hours remaining until the deadline.
We have liftoff. 🚀
Thank you to the devs, the researchers, educators and community members who made this happen.
See you on December 1st @ noon UTC. pic.twitter.com/bZ15EDefMK
— Eth 2.0 Deposit Contract – Progress Meter Bot (@DepositEth) November 24, 2020
The Ethereum beacon chain genesis will now be able to take place on December 1 as hoped, although genesis participants will not be able to withdraw their coins until the upgrade reaches Phase 1.5, which entails the merging of the Ethereum mainnet with the Ethereum 2 beacon chain.
Many Ethereum 2.0 Stakers Biding Their Time
The initially slow uptake may have been down to concerns by holders over the security of their tokens, given that this is essentially an experimental system and 32 ETH is worth $19,500 at the moment – a princely sum were it to go missing. It is likely then that once the staking mechanism is proved to be a success that the number of Ethereum 2.0 stakers will increase, despite the various downsides of staking over trading.
The Ethereum price hit $620 at the time of the announcement, precipitating a typical ‘sell the news’ event, which saw it drop instantly to $590. With the hype over the staking contract over it will be interesting to see how the Ethereum price reacts now, particularly with Bitcoin gunning for all time highs.
