Pectra Update Raises Ethereum Staking Limit Without Threatening Decentralization, Says Consensys

• Ethereum increases staking limit to 2.048 ETH
• Pectra update does not favor larger validators
• Institutional staking could gain traction with EIP-7002

The Pectra upgrade, considered Ethereum’s most significant since the 2022 merge, is at the center of the community’s debate over decentralization. One of the most discussed points is the new staking limit, which now allows up to 2.048 ETH per validator, up from the previous cap of 32 ETH. Despite the concerns, Mallesh Pai, senior director of research at Consensys, said that the change does not pose any risks to the network’s decentralization.

During a press conference at Cointelegraph X Space, Pai stressed that the update does not disproportionately favor larger validators. “Rewards continue to be proportional to the amount of ETH you hold. […] It’s not the case that if you’re a large validator, you somehow have more advantages than you had before,” he said.

According to him, the proposal eliminates the “heavy lifting” that goes on behind the scenes, optimizing the operation of validators. Currently, it is estimated that there are around 1 million technical validators on Ethereum. However, many operate multiple keys on the same machine. With the new update, these keys can be consolidated, which is already being seen on the network, Pai said. The expectation is that this number will drop to around 30 validators.

The move could also attract interest from institutions. According to Artemiy Parshakov, vice president of institutions at P2P.org, EIP-7002 facilitates institutional staking by providing a more secure framework for large operations.

The possibility of institutional staking becomes even more relevant in light of the debate surrounding Ether ETFs. In 2025, several asset managers requested the SEC to include staking in Ethereum funds as a way to increase the yield of the products. BlackRock has already highlighted that an ETF without staking is “less effective”.