Managing Expectations Heading Into "The Merge"
APR 21, 2022 • 11 Min Read



DISCLOSURE: DELPHI VENTURES AND MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM HOLD ETH & LDO. THIS STATEMENT IS INTENDED TO DISCLOSE ANY CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND SHOULD NOT BE MISCONSTRUED AS A RECOMMENDATION TO PURCHASE ANY TOKEN. THIS CONTENT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND YOU SHOULD NOT MAKE DECISIONS BASED SOLELY ON IT. THIS IS NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE.
Key Takeaways
The actual date of The Merge is still unknown but based on the rate of progress, and some expert opinions, we expect to see The Merge occur around late Q3 or early Q4 of this year. A go/no-go decision on performing The Merge or postponing it is set to take place on April 29th during the Ethereum All Core Developers call.
Currently, ~9.7% of the total ETH supply is being staked. All staked ETH will remain out of circulation until another upgrade finally happens after The Merge is complete. As a result, staking will continue to be a significant supply sink for ETH into the foreseeable future.
EIP-1559 was the first step to turn ETH into a deflationary asset and, since its introduction in August 2021, it has led to ~1.8% of the total ETH supply being burned. The Merge will take this a step further by slashing ETH issuance anywhere between 60-90%.
Depending on the amount of ETH staked, network fees, and MEV after The Merge, ETH staking yields could range between 8.7-10.3%.
Currently, the validator activation queue is just over 2 weeks long and is expected to increase as more ETH is staked. The validator queue could present an opportunity for liquid staking derivative projects like Lido if they are able to subsidize yields during the queue and continue onboarding users.
Metus vulputate eu scelerisque felis. Nulla facilisi cras fermentum odio eu. Scelerisque fermentum dui
faucibus in ornare quam viverra orci sagittis. A iaculis at erat pellentesque adipiscing commodo elit. In
fermentum et sollicitudin ac orci. Ultrices sagittis orci a scelerisque purus. Faucibus ornare
suspendisse sed nisi lacus sed viverra tellus in. Mauris cursus mattis molestie a iaculis at erat
pellentesque adipiscing. Volutpat diam ut venenatis tellus in metus vulputate. Eu consequat ac felis
donec et odio pellentesque. Eu mi bibendum neque egestas congue quisque egestas diam. Quam
lacus suspendisse faucibus interdum posuere lorem. Quam id leo in vitae. Ut faucibus pulvinar
elementum integer enim neque. Id ornare arcu odio ut sem nulla pharetra diam sit. Molestie ac feugiat
sed lectus vestibulum mattis. Ipsum nunc aliquet bibendum enim facilisis. Euismod nisi porta lorem
mollis aliquam ut porttitor.
Iaculis nunc sed augue lacus viverra vitae congue eu consequat. Gravida neque convallis a cras.
Nunc scelerisque viverra mauris in aliquam sem. Non odio euismod lacinia at quis risus sed vulputate
odio. Purus faucibus ornare suspendisse sed. Turpis egestas maecenas pharetra convallis posuere
morbi. Nec feugiat nisl pretium fusce id velit ut. Nunc congue nisi vitae suscipit tellus mauris a diam.
Posuere sollicitudin aliquam ultrices sagittis orci. Urna nec tincidunt praesent semper. Turpis nunc
eget lorem dolor sed viverra.
suspendisse sed nisi lacus sed viverra tellus in. Mauris cursus mattis molestie a iaculis at erat
pellentesque adipiscing. Volutpat diam ut venenatis tellus in metus vulputate. Eu consequat ac felis
donec et odio pellentesque. Eu mi bibendum neque egestas congue quisque egestas diam. Quam
lacus suspendisse faucibus interdum posuere lorem. Quam id leo in vitae. Ut faucibus pulvinar
elementum integer enim neque. Id ornare arcu odio ut sem nulla pharetra diam sit. Molestie ac feugiat
sed lectus vestibulum mattis. Ipsum nunc aliquet bibendum enim facilisis. Euismod nisi porta lorem
mollis aliquam ut porttitor.
Iaculis nunc sed augue lacus viverra vitae congue eu consequat. Gravida neque convallis a cras.
Nunc scelerisque viverra mauris in aliquam sem. Non odio euismod lacinia at quis risus sed vulputate
odio. Purus faucibus ornare suspendisse sed. Turpis egestas maecenas pharetra convallis posuere
morbi. Nec feugiat nisl pretium fusce id velit ut. Nunc congue nisi vitae suscipit tellus mauris a diam.
Posuere sollicitudin aliquam ultrices sagittis orci. Urna nec tincidunt praesent semper. Turpis nunc
eget lorem dolor sed viverra.
lacus suspendisse faucibus interdum posuere lorem. Quam id leo in vitae. Ut faucibus pulvinar
elementum integer enim neque. Id ornare arcu odio ut sem nulla pharetra diam sit. Molestie ac feugiat
sed lectus vestibulum mattis. Ipsum nunc aliquet bibendum enim facilisis. Euismod nisi porta lorem
mollis aliquam ut porttitor.



Readers also enjoyed
Lending / Borrowing
Liquidations are a popular concept in the crypto asset market. With crypto’s volatility comes lucrative opportunities, but as the saying […]
Delphi Daily
Chart of The Day: X2Y2 Lags on Launch X2Y2 is the latest NFT marketplace that launched in hopes of siphoning […]
Staking
With ETH locked in DeFi, Phase 0 of ETH 2.0, and now the newly created yETH Vaults, we take a look at the increasing ETH supply sinks and the dynamic between them.