The Ethereum merge may have been an underwhelming event for many users of the network, but it created a new paradigm for corporate entities to enter the crypto industry by providing validator services and staking large amounts of ETH. The current picture of the network is worrying for decentralization enthusiasts. However, many people are excited about the arrival of many big capital holders.
T-Mobile’s parent company is highly interested in providing validator services
The company sees an opportunity to create a large army of stakers in Europe by allowing its customers in the EU and the US to join a huge validator pool without running a node. The pool will be operated by StakeWise, a DAO network that has the necessary expertise and capacity. In theory, combined staking can be quite substantial and offer a competitive advantage to Deutsche Telekom in a still emerging market.
The biggest concern that many crypto enthusiasts have when it comes to the new PoS network is that the centralization of power in the network is seemingly inevitable. The danger is not in the vulnerability of the network to a large attack, but in the fact that validation will be controlled by several huge corporations. LIDO, Kraken, and Coinbase control 51.05% of all nodes.
The potential weakness was already revealed with the SEC forcing US validators to comply with some of its rules. More regulation targeting US-based validators will be coming soon. It is a given.
The move from Deutsche Telekom is still a good thing in general
The dilution of the pool with an influx of huge players is necessary to provide more decentralization and diversity which means fewer vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Deutsche Telekom has 248 clients across the globe with many not yet being introduced to the world of crypto. Potentially, this army of people can bring more value to the industry as a whole while using a convenient service from their trusted communication service provider.
Many other companies are currently building their unique solutions to participate in the Ethereum network. Deutsche Telekom is just faster than them.