What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is an open-source blockchain protocol that has been developed to create a platform for decentralized applications (dApps). Vitalik Buterin published the first Ethereum white paper in 2013, describing a distributed computing platform for executing smart contracts and building dApps. In 2014, a Swiss non-profit foundation, the Ethereum Foundation, was founded to lead efforts to upgrade the network and develop new features. Ethereum’s mainnet was officially launched in July 2015.
One of Ethereum's key features is its smart contract functionality, which enables developers to build dApps on top of the blockchain. These dApps can be used for a wide range of purposes, from financial transactions and voting systems to supply chain management and social networks. Ethereum's native cryptocurrency is Ether (ETH), which is used to pay for transaction fees and computational services on the network.
Since its launch, Ethereum has undergone several protocol upgrades to improve its scalability, security, and functionality. In September 2022, the Serenity or Ethereum 2.0 upgrade marked the successful transition of Ethereum’s proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake (PoS). The network’s transition to PoS significantly reduced the network’s energy consumption, while also increasing its transaction throughput.
The recent Shapella upgrade is another significant milestone for Ethereum. It was successfully deployed in April 2023 and will allow users to un-stake their Ethereum for the first time since staking was enabled in December 2020.
What is ETH?
The primary function of ETH tokens is to serve as the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network. ETH tokens are used to pay for transaction fees and computational services on the network, such as deploying smart contracts and executing dApps. Essentially, ETH is the fuel that powers the Ethereum ecosystem.
In addition to its role as a transactional currency, ETH also has other functions within the Ethereum ecosystem. For example, ETH can be used as collateral to secure loans or to participate in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. ETH can also be staked in order to participate in the network's consensus mechanism and earn rewards for helping to validate transactions on the blockchain.
Furthermore, ETH tokens can be used as a store of value, similar to other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. As the Ethereum network continues to grow and gain adoption, demand for ETH may increase, driving up its value.
Overall, the primary functions of ETH tokens are to facilitate transactions and computational services on the Ethereum network, provide collateral for DeFi applications, participate in the network's consensus mechanism, and serve as a store of value or speculative asset.
How does ETH staking work?
On Ethereum, certain nodes called validators process transactions and run the network. Validators on Ethereum are responsible for the same thing as miners in proof-of-work systems such as Bitcoin: ordering transactions and creating new blocks so that all nodes can agree on the state of the network. Holders of ETH can participate in staking by either running their own validators, or alternatively by delegating their ETH to a third-party validator. The Ethereum PoS network pays staking rewards to participants that delegate their ETH.
Wealthsimple allows you to stake ETH. For a more detailed general explanation of staking and the associated risks of staking, please refer to the Wealthsimple Crypto Product Risk Disclosure. Additional information regarding staking of ETH on Wealthsimple is set out below.
Validator Rewards
Ethereum validators receive interest on their ETH for staking based on the number of validators operating on the network. The number of validators operating on the network determines the amount of rewards distributed. If there are few validators, rewards will generally be higher to encourage more ETH holders to stake and contribute to securing the network. Conversely, if there are many validators operating on the network, rewards will generally be lower. Interest rewarded to validators is automatically calculated by the Ethereum protocol and paid to validators when staking rewards are distributed.
Supported Validators
Wealthsimple arranges to stake ETH with validator nodes operated by the following infrastructure providers:
Infrastructure Provider |
Description |
Coinbase |
Coinbase Crypto Services is a subsidiary of Coinbase Global Inc, based in the United States. |
Figment Inc. |
Figment Inc. is a staking as a service provider based out of Canada. |
Epochs
Time in proof-of-stake Ethereum is divided into slots (12 seconds) and epochs (32 slots). One validator is randomly selected to be a block proposer in every slot. This validator is responsible for creating a new block and sending it out to other nodes on the network. In every slot, a committee of validators is randomly chosen, whose votes are used to determine the validity of the block being proposed. Rewards and penalties are issued at each epoch, approximately 6.4 minutes.
Warm-up & Cool-down Periods
Staking ETH at the protocol level takes time before rewards begin to accrue. Once staking has been initiated, a validator enters a queue to become “activated”. In the first stage, the staking transaction is submitted to the Ethereum network. After approximately 7.5 hours, the network will acknowledge the ETH to be “deposited” to the staking contract. Once this step is completed, the ETH deposit is officially accessible to the PoS Beacon Chain and will remain in a “pending” state until being activated.
Only four validators are activated per epoch, or approximately 900 validators per day. Depending on the length of the queue and network congestion, activation may take days or even weeks to complete. Once activated, a validator will begin accruing rewards for securing the network.
Withdrawing staked ETH or rewards from a validator balance became possible with the recent Shapella upgrade. Similar to the activation of a validator, a queue will be formed for users attempting to unstake and withdraw their assets. This exit queue is estimated to be 6 validators per epoch, or approximately 1350 validators per day.
Network Inflation
The Ethereum network pays staking rewards from newly issued ETH, and user fees paid to the network. Currently, the Ethereum network’s inflation rate is estimated to be approximately 0.5%.
Staking Rewards
Ethereum PoS computes and issues staking rewards once per epoch. Rewards accrued in a given epoch are issued in the first block of the following epoch.
When rewards are received, Wealthsimple will calculate and distribute your share of ETH staking rewards to your Crypto Account. For each epoch, your share of ETH staking rewards is proportionate to the amount of ETH that you had staked and was warmed up when the epoch began.
Following the Shapella upgrade, staking rewards can now be unstaked and withdrawn. The time it takes for the Ethereum network to process an unstaking request is determined by the protocol.
Staking Fees
Wealthsimple charges you a fee equal to a percentage of staking rewards received by you. The amount of the fee for ETH is set out in our Fee Schedule. This fee is deducted when rewards are distributed to you.
Custody of Staked ETH
ETH staked using the Staking Functionality is staked from dedicated accounts held with one or more of Wealthsimple's custodians. Wealthsimple's custodians will continue to hold the private keys required to control ETH held in these stake accounts.
Slashing
On Ethereum PoS, slashing is a penalty for a validator’s dishonest behavior, such as proposing multiple blocks in a single slot or submitting contradictory attestations. In either case an attestation penalty is levied on such validators daily over the course of 36 days before the validator is finally ejected from the staking process. The amount slashed is determined by how many validators are being slashed at a given time - if for instance there were a coordinated attack on the network the penalty may be very severe, including the complete destruction of all staked assets.
In the event that a supported Ethereum validator is slashed, Wealthsimple has no obligation to replace any lost ETH or otherwise provide compensation for any losses. To the extent that Wealthsimple receives any compensation from validators in connection with a slashing event, Wealthsimple will distribute that compensation to affected clients. The negative impact of slashing will be allocated to all clients using the Staking Functionality at the time of slashing event, in proportion to the amount of ETH they had staked.
Risk Statement
Before trading any crypto assets it is important to understand the risks. This overview is a starting point for you to perform your own research prior to investing in a crypto asset.
No securities regulatory authority or regulator in Canada has evaluated or endorsed the Crypto Contracts or any of the crypto assets made available through the platform.
Wealthsimple has performed an assessment of whether ETH can be supported by Wealthsimple’s platform, including whether ETH is a security and/or a derivative and is being offered in compliance with securities and derivatives laws.
We evaluated ETH based on publicly available information, including (but not limited to):
- The creation, governance, usage and design of ETH, including the source code, security and roadmap for growth in the developer community and, if applicable, the background of the developer(s) that first created Ethereum;
- The supply, demand, maturity, utility and liquidity of ETH;
- Material technical risks associated with ETH, including any code defects, security breaches and other threats concerning ETH and its supporting blockchain (such as the susceptibility to hacking and impact of forking), or the practices and protocols that apply to them;
- Legal and regulatory risks associated with ETH, including any pending, potential, or prior civil, regulatory, criminal, or enforcement action relating to the issuance, distribution, or use of ETH; and
- Statements made by regulators or securities regulatory authorities in Canada and other jurisdictions regarding whether ETH, or generally about whether the type of crypto asset, is a security and/or a derivative.
As part of its assessment, Wealthsimple reviewed and considered:
- the design and operation of staking ETH, including:
- bonding/unbonding or warm-up/cool-down periods;
- any limits on the number of active validators;
- the mechanism for selecting validators;
- slashing or similar penalties; and
- token inflation;
- any publicly available security assessments; and
- where feasible, the number and identity of validators participating in staking.
Wealthsimple monitors ongoing developments related to crypto assets available on its platform for significant changes that may affect Wealthsimple’s original assessment of those assets, including Wealthsimple’s assessment of the application of securities and derivatives laws. Any significant changes relating to ETH may result in changes to this Crypto Asset Statement and/or Wealthsimple’s ability to support ETH.
Like all other crypto assets, there are some general risks to investing in ETH. These include short history risk, volatility risk, liquidity risk, demand risk, forking risk, cryptography risk, regulatory risk, concentration risk, electronic trading risk and cyber security risk. Please review the Wealthsimple Crypto Product Risk Disclosure for additional discussion of general risks associated with the crypto assets made available through the platform.
We emphasize that this Crypto Asset Statement is not exhaustive of all risks associated with trading or staking ETH. Investors should perform their own assessment to determine the appropriate level of risk for their personal circumstances.
Wealthsimple is offering Crypto Contracts in reliance on a prospectus exemption contained in the exemptive relief decision Re Wealthsimple Investments Inc. dated December 18, 2023 (the Decision).
The statutory rights of action for damages and rescission in section 130.1 of the Securities Act (Ontario), and, if applicable, similar statutory rights under securities legislation of other jurisdictions of Canada, do not apply in respect of this Crypto Asset Statement to the extent a Crypto Contract is distributed under the prospectus relief in the Decision.
Last updated: January 1, 2024
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