Lido unveils Ethereum staking overhaul with validator consolidation plan

Lido has introduced a major upgrade to its Ethereum staking infrastructure that supports higher validator balances and projects a one-third reduction in validator count through its new Curated Module v2. Summary Lido has launched Curated Module v2, allowing Ethereum validators to increase their effective balance from 32 ETH to as much as 2,048 ETH. The protocol estimates the upgrade could reduce Ethereum’s validator count by about one third while improving consensus layer efficiency. New bonding and penalty mechanisms have been introduced to strengthen accountability for Lido’s node operators. According to a Monday update from Lido, the latest version of its Curated Module adds support for Ethereum’s 0x02 withdrawal credentials, allowing validators to raise their effective balance from 32 ETH to as much as 2,048 ETH. The protocol said the change is designed to improve validator operations while continuing its push toward a more decentralized staking network. Lido projects fewer Ethereum validators Under the proposed migration, Lido estimates Ethereum’s validator count could decline from roughly 880,000 to about 628,000. The protocol said the migration has not yet started and stress...