Shortly after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission clarified its stance on staking, investors allocated a record amount of #الإيثيريوم to the network.

The amount of Ethereum allocated to validate network transactions surpassed 35 million on Tuesday, a record high representing 28.3% of the asset's circulating supply, according to the Dune dashboard. At the same time, the number of validators who received rewards reached 1.1 million - a new record.

Despite the existence of liquid staking solutions, the upward trend points to increasing conviction in Ethereum, said Carlos Guzman, a research analyst at cryptocurrency market maker GSR.

He said, "This aligns with market expectations about Ethereum's shift becoming more optimistic and positive." "Perhaps people are anticipating a price increase in the future, thus feeling more confident about holding the asset."

Late last month, the chief Wall Street officer stated that he does not view staking activities as securities transactions, noting that the lack of clarity "artificially constrained participation in network consensus and undermined decentralization [...] for proof-of-stake chains."

Although former SEC chair Gary Gensler assumed in 2022 that proof-of-stake assets could themselves be securities, the statement noted that individuals and institutions could participate, as asset managers seek to integrate staking rewards into exchange-traded funds.

Liquid staking protocols, such as Lido, allow the user to lock up their Ethereum in exchange for a token linked to the asset's price, with the potential to earn rewards.

Ethereum was recently trading at around $2500, down 5.4% from the previous day, according to cryptocurrency data provider CoinGecko. As of Tuesday, the total value of staked Ethereum reached $90 billion based on current prices.

Practically, the amount of Ethereum deposited affects the issuance of the asset, or the rate of new Ethereum creation. With more Ethereum deposited, the asset issuance increases at a decreasing rate, according to the business development company Etherealize.

"Even in a hypothetical extreme scenario - where the entire circulating supply of $ETH

[...] and no ETH is burned through network use - the maximum potential inflation rate is capped at 1.51%,” the company said in a recent research report.

Unlike $BTC

#Bitcoin , where computers are continuously processing complex calculations to compete for new coins, #Ethereum relies on the validators who have locked up capital for a chance to participate in the transaction validation process, since the so-called merge in 2022.