Ethereum staking dominance and cybersecurity: Evaluating the long-term impact of locking 2,000,000 ETH in beacon chains

Ethereum’s staking ecosystem has locked over 2 million ETHs on the beacon chain, valued at over $4 billion, cementing its dominance in the Proof of Stake (PoS) network. However, the recent fines and confiscation incidents affected 39-40 validators due to operator issues at providers such as Ankr and Allnodes, highlighting the ongoing infrastructure risks. Nevertheless, institutional adoption rates continue to grow, with inflows of institutional pledges exceeding retail participation since mid-2024, supported by liquid staking derivatives and EIP-4844 upgrades aimed at improving scalability.