Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has sent his first ether for staking on the next iteration of the blockchain network.
- Buterin's "VB2" address sent 100 transactions for 32 ether each, all in totaling 3,200 units of the cryptocurrency, as reported by TrustedNodes. The amount is worth around $1.4 million at press time.
- The transactions (visible here) were sent to Ethereum 2.0's newly launched deposit contract, which went live Wednesday as a means for network participants to move funds from the current proof-of-work blockchain to the soon-to-launch proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain.
- Since then, public Ethereum participants have been able to deposit the minimum 32 ether required to stake on Eth 2.0.
- The deposit contract now holds 38,693 ether, worth some $17 million.
- Staking is a way of supporting a PoS blockchain network by committing funds for a period of time in return for rewards. PoS networks do not rely on mining, as do the existing Ethereum network and Bitcoin.
- Ethereum 2.0 is expected to launch soon, possibly in early December, after the date was brought back from Bitcoin's launch anniversary on Jan. 1.
- The "Genesis" launch requires 16,384 validators to deposited funds equivalent to 524,288 ether into the contract. At that point the Beacon chain, the core of Ethereum 2.0, will go live.
Also read: Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Calls on Power Users to Move to Layer 2 Scaling
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