The largest single-node operator facilitating staking activities on the Ethereum network is Coinbase.
Per its inaugural Validator Performance report, the US-based platform has staked 3.84 million ETH through 120,000 validators, which constitutes 11.42% of the overall staked ETH.
In addition to its primary staking efforts, Coinbase has staked an extra 581,500 ETH via partnerships as of March 4, 2025.
This extensive staking portfolio further strengthens Coinbase’s position relative to centralized rivals. For context, Binance stakes approximately 2 million ETH and Kraken around 1 million ETH, clearly placing Coinbase in the lead.
Despite facing prior legal challenges from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company’s swift growth in Ethereum staking persists. The financial regulator accused Coinbase’s staking services of breaching securities legislation.
In response, Coinbase refuted these allegations, asserting that staking contributes to blockchain security and does not fulfill the legal definitions set out in the US Securities Act or the Howey Test.
Validator Performance
Validators are essential within the network, tasked with verifying and validating new transactions and blocks on the blockchain.
The report underscores Coinbase’s robust performance, with its validators achieving an impressive 99.75% uptime and participation rate.
The platform noted that its validators are strategically located in various regions, including Japan, Singapore, Ireland, Germany, and Hong Kong.
The exchange’s validators leverage multiple execution and consensus clients to further boost security and decentralization. This strategy decreases the likelihood of network disruptions, lessens potential attack vectors, and ensures consistent rewards.
Consequently, the platform reported that its validators maintain a flawless record with no instances of double-signing or being slashed.
Largest Node Operator
A prominent Ethereum educator and founder of The Daily Gwei noted that these statistics confirm Coinbase as the largest individual node operator within the network.
He stated:
“Coinbase [is] the single largest node operator on the network (Lido is larger collectively, but each node operator holds a smaller percentage).”
Data from Dune Analytics indicates that Lido continues to dominate Ethereum staking, with over 9 million ETH staked, which represents about 27.3% of the entire staking market.
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