Ethereum community proposes EIP-8361 to cap staking rate below 50%

The Ethereum community has submitted a new improvement proposal, EIP-8361 “Tapered Issuance Burn,” aimed at adjusting the ETH issuance mechanism to mitigate centralization and dilution risks caused by excessively high staking ratios. The proposal notes that as of April 2026, the ETH staking ratio exceeded one-third of the total supply and continues to rise. Under the current issuance curve, even if all ETH were staked, the staking yield would remain above approximately 1.5%, resulting in a lack of a “shutdown mechanism” for staking incentives. EIP-8361 proposes burning a portion of validators’ theoretical rewards in each epoch, with the burn rate increasing as the staking ratio grows: when the staking rate reaches approximately 50%, net staking yields will gradually decline to zero. According to the design, under the tapered issuance model, ETH issuance will peak at a staking rate of around 20%, with an annual issuance rate of approximately 0.5%, and will drop to zero once the staking rate reaches 50%. Combined with the EIP-1559 and blob fee burning mechanisms, ETH’s supply may enter deflationary territory more frequently in the future.