How Ethereum’s new 2,048 ETH staking rule could lock up user rewards longer than expected

Ethereum is considering a change that would let compounding validators set how much ETH should remain on a validator before excess rewards enter the network's automatic withdrawal sweep.An Aug. 20 edit to draft EIP-8148 lowered the proposal's minimum custom threshold from 33 ETH to 32 ETH and added a way to set the initial threshold when a new validator is created. If activated, the proposal would let 0x02 validators select a level between 32 ETH and the current 2,048 ETH default. The change would affect reward-sweep timing while Ethereum's existing exit rules continue to govern principal withdrawals.Ethereum's 32 ETH change controls reward-sweep timingEthereum currently treats its two execution-address withdrawal credentials differently.Validators using legacy 0x01 credentials have a 32 ETH effective-balance cap. Any balance above 32 ETH is periodically swept to the withdrawal address, so those rewards stop compounding on the validator.Compounding 0x02 validators can increase their effective balance in 1 ETH increments up to 2,048 ETH. Under Ethereum's current withdrawal-credential rules, their balance is automatically swept only after it exceeds 2,048 ETH. Accessing ETH below tha...