Ethereum Researchers Push for Reward-Burn Mechanism to Offset Rising Staking
A proposal to radically transform Ethereum's monetary policy has been submitted by six network researchers. The draft, catalogued as EIP-8361, proposes burning a growing portion of the rewards received by validators as the amount of staked ETH increases. This would eliminate net issuance when staking reaches 60.25 million ETH, equivalent to roughly half of the total supply.
The mechanism operates every 6.4 minutes, at the close of each epoch: instead of paying out the full reward generated, a fraction is permanently destroyed. That fraction grows linearly until it reaches 100% when staking hits the saturation point. Validators retain all transaction fees and tips earned from building blocks; only newly created Ethereum is subject to the burn.
The proposal lies in addressing the current scheme's flaw: even if all existing ETH were staked, yields would still hover around 1.5%, creating a permanent accumulation incentive. Jérôme de Tychey projects more than 70 million ETH staked by January 2028 if no action is taken.