Fantom, a Layer 1 blockchain network, has significantly reduced the staking requirement for validators from 500,000 to 50,000 FTM tokens, aiming to become more decentralized. This change, announced by the Fantom Foundation on January 15, followed a governance vote and is expected to make network participation more accessible.
The Foundation emphasized the importance of having more validators to prevent centralization and to make it harder for malicious actors to attack the network. With more validators, transactions can be processed faster, enhancing the network’s performance without compromising security.
Validators on Fantom confirm transactions using the Lachesis proof-of-stake consensus, which requires 2/3 acceptance before finalizing transaction batches. The aim is to improve decentralized governance without reducing network speed or security, even with validators holding smaller stakes.
Despite the staking changes, the price of Fantom’s native token, FTM, has declined by 1.4% in the last 24 hours to $0.389 and is down 30% from its annual high of $0.557 in December. The price drop has not been influenced by staking activities, as FTM prices remain 89% below their all-time high from October 2021.
Fantom’s DeFi total value locked (TVL) stands at $74 million, a 90% decrease from its peak in March 2022, according to DeFiLlama. Following a Multichain attack, SpiritSwap DEX, a Fantom-based platform, announced its closure in August.
