Coinbase as the largest node operator for Ethereum: 120,000 validators and 11.42% of the ETH offered
<p> <strong> Coinbase as the largest node operator for Ethereum: 120,000 validators and 11.42% of the ETH offered </strong> </p>
Coinbase as a leading node operator for Ethereum
Coinbase has established itself as the largest node operator for Ethereum, with impressive 120,000 validators. In a current report, the stock exchange announced that it manages 3.84 million ETH through its validators by March 4, which corresponds to 11.42 % of the total in circulation.
High availability and safety focus
The report that should give an insight into the operating performance of Coinbase shows that the company recorded an availability of 99.75 % in February 2025. This means that the validators of Coinbase were 99.75 % of the month online and ready for operation. Although an availability of 99.9 % would theoretically be possible, Coinbase has not sought this goal for security reasons.
The decision to keep availability above 99 %, but less than 99.9 %, serves to avoid security concerns such as double signings. Coinbase has not experienced double signs or punishments (slashing) since it was founded. Slashing is a punishment in which validators lose part of their share if they violate the networks.
Coinbase emphasized:
"Due to the orientation to 99.9 %, security compromises are required that can increase the risk of double signing, which leads to punishments. With Coinbase, high uptimes are important, but we always prioritize the security of our customers' assets from availability."
The improved availability in February is also attributed to an upgrade of the architecture, which enables the validators to continue to operate during maintenance work on the Beacon node.
Participation rate and concerns about centralization
In addition to the high availability, the report also shows a participation rate of 99.75 %, which records the number of validators that successfully perform their consensus. This is above the network average of 99.52 %.
With the disclosure of its share of Ethereum, concerns about the centralization of the network have arisen. Although 11.42 % of the coin base share is lower than that of Lido, Coinbase remains the largest node operator. Lido, on the other hand, acts as a collective in which smaller operations per node operator are possible.
Some in the crypto community, including the Daily Gwei founder Anthony Sassano, praised the transparency of Coinbase. However, others say that this large proportion could endanger the centralization of Ethereum. Coinbase reacts in his report and refers to the variety of its validators as proof of the decentralization of the network.
diversification and geographical distribution
The exchange emphasizes that it has two consensus customers, two execution customers and six relay customers. The consensus customers, lighthouse and PRYSM, make up 63.8 % of the total distribution, while Geth and Nethermind provide 79 % of the execution clients. This suggests that the clients of Coinbase dominate the Ethereum network in both consensus and execution areas.
Despite this dominance, the Coinbase validators also provided with regard to the minimization of centralization: six different MEV relays are in use, four of which are not censored. Coinbase recognizes the risk of diversification and plans to further improve its variety of customers by evaluating the willingness to produce two further implementations.
The geographical distribution of the validators is another point where coinbase strives for decentralization. These are active in five countries: Singapore, Japan, Ireland, Hong Kong and Germany. In addition, two cloud providers, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform, are used.
Overall, Coinbase positions itself as a responsible node operator who takes both high availability and security concerns seriously, while at the same time dealing with the topics of decentralization and transparency.