GM fellow staker,From Bitcoin ETFs getting the green light to the recent frenzy in trading volume, the 2024 crypto landscape has been a wild ride already.No matter what, staking is a constant and will play a significant role in the growth of crypto markets this year. With that gem in mind, the burning question on everyone's lips that still remains is... WEN ETH ETF?Speculation aside, let's jump into this week's edition…🧵 What to expect:<ul><li>👀 Real Reward Rate</li><li>📰 Weekly Briefing</li><li>🌐 New Integration: Agoric</li><li>🍙 The Rise of the Blobs</li><li>₿ &nbsp; All Shades of Bitcoin Staking</li></ul>Read time: 2 minutes&nbsp;<h2>👀 New Year, New Liquid Staking Portfolio!</h2>We've just shipped 5 exciting new features to the Staking Portfolio to enhance your Ethereum liquid staking (LST) experience! Key among these is the integration of ETHx, an LST that hit mainnet 6 months ago and has already gained a market cap of nearly $200 million. ETHx can be acquired through minting or buying directly via the Staking Portfolio, which ensures you get the most cost-effective option first.What else? We've summarized the additional new Staking Portfolio features below...<ul><li>Staked Position Overview: A visual representation of your staked LST positions.</li><li>Lifetime Earnings Section: Track your total staking rewards, missed earnings from idle ETH, and maximum possible earnings if all ETH were staked consistently.</li><li>Expected Earnings Forecast: Project next year's staking rewards based on current performance, potential under optimal conditions, and highest earnings with perfect strategy execution.</li><li>Date Filters for Rewards: Filter your historical wallet data, including daily accrued rewards and potential earnings over selected time periods.</li></ul>Head to the Staking Portfolio now, connect your wallet and explore the new features for yourself 🚀&nbsp;<h2>📰 Weekly Briefing</h2>More top news this week from the world of staking…<ul><li>Vitalik Buterin endorses raising Ethereum gas limit by 33% to improve network capacity</li><li>Cosmos Hub votes on proposal aiming to set minimum ATOM inflation rate at zero</li><li>Osmosis announces staking v1, to allow users to stake directly on their native platform</li><li>Liquidity-Focused Berachain Opens Layer-1 Testnet to Public</li><li>Injective rolls out Volan upgrade focused on real-world assets and connectivity with Cosmos chains &nbsp;</li></ul><h2>🌐Maximizing Rewards &amp; Decentralizing Ethereum</h2>Solo staking on Ethereum is the gold standard when it comes to decentralizing the network. However, running your own validator on Ethereum presents significant hurdles for many. There is a high barrier to entry (32 ETH) and a certain level of technical aptitude needed to be a solo staker.SafeStake is turning these challenges into opportunities. Their solution uses Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) to enable stakers with zero technical knowledge to maximize their staking rewards and minimize their risks.&nbsp;<h2>🍙 The Rise of the Blobs</h2>The Global Staking Market Cap is sitting pretty at $209B+, having recently shot past the $200B mark.Staking on the Ethereum network alone provides $74.83B worth of economic security, offering institutions a highly secure environment to build on top of. However, scalability has long been an issue for the network.Rollups are an essential component for scaling Ethereum. Layer-2 networks such as Optimism and Arbitrum utilize rollups to provide fees that are often ~3-8x lower than the Ethereum base layer itself. Yet, for mass global adoption these fees are still too high and scaling is not going to work.Next week, Ethereum's Dencun network upgrade will be rolled out to the Goerli testnet, setting the wheels in motion for the enhanced scalability and growth of the network.Proto-Danksharding (EIP-4844), which is part of the upgrade, makes sending large chunks (or blobs) of data cheaper and more scalable. Once live on mainnet, we may see Layer-2 transaction fees being reduced by tenfold!&nbsp;<h2>₿ All Shades of Bitcoin Staking</h2>What does Bitcoin have to do with staking?We invited three of the biggest protocols building Bitcoin staking solutions together to discuss this very topic. Learn more and revisit the full panel discussion at this year's Staking Summit.

Staking Insider #22: New Year, New Liquid Staking Portfolio!