Ethereum 2.0’s deposit contract is now bigger than Uniswap

Surging crypto prices have sent the dollar value of Ethereum 2.0’s deposit contract beyond $2.4 billion.

Ethereum’s upgrade contract now holds around 2.24 million ETH — a 12% jump in two weeks, during which time the price of ETH has surged 80%.

Still, that’s more than four times what was initially required to begin its transition away from a Proof-of-Work system like Bitcoin’s.

Today, Ethereum 2.0 is the third largest staking contract in existence, having overtaken popular decentralized exchange Uniswap.

Instead of joining the network by mining Ether, holders are instead promised returns of around 10% on the crypto they stake — however rewards for some early supporters will start at double that.

The earliest locked their ETH at roughly $400. Now, it trades for $1,050 — meaning they can’t take profits of up to 160% which came in the first 60-odd days of staking.

The transition to Proof-of-Stake is expected to take around two years, with stakers unable to unlock their funds until the process reaches ‘Phase 1.5’.

[Read: Marathon raises $200M to buy Bitcoin miners]

So far, nearly 4,500 backers have been uniquely identified, and the single biggest amount contributed is currently 58,144 ETH ($60 million).

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin himself disclosed staking 3,200 ETH last November — worth $1.4 million then, but $3.4 million at press time.