Ethereum Researchers Propose Tapered Issuance Burn to Curb Staking Incentives
Ethereum researchers have submitted a draft proposal to reduce validator rewards as more ETH is staked. The 'Tapered Issuance Burn' proposal, called EIP-8361, aims to end the incentive for staking growth beyond 50% of the ETH supply.
According to the authors, who include Jérôme de Tychey and Justin Drake, the current issuance curve continues to offer a yield of around 1.5%, even if nearly all ETH is staked. They argue that this remaining yield floor provides no point at which issuance stops encouraging additional staking.
The proposal would deduct and burn a portion of the rewards assigned to validators for attestations, block proposals, and sync committee participation. The burn rate would increase alongside Ethereum's staking ratio and reach 100% when approximately 60.25 million ETH is actively staked, an amount set to represent roughly half of the current supply.
The authors estimate that more than 70 million ETH could be staked by January 2028 if the validator entry queue remains near its maximum rate and exits remain limited. The proposal would take effect across the full staking curve from activation, meaning issuance would no longer provide an incentive for staking growth beyond the 50% threshold from the first day.