IBC Group Chair to Stake 20,000 ETH

Khurram Shroff (pictured), Dubai based businessman and Chairman of the IBC Group is to send $10 million worth of eth to the new ethereum 2.0 blockchain.

“We are very excited by the ‘Proof of Stake’ concept proposed for the Ethereum 2.0 smart contracts and are locking up 20,000 eth which is a one way trip till phase 2, this lockup shows our confidence in ETH2 and dedication to the beacon chain,” says Shroff before adding:

“The greener and more efficient version being introduced in the second iteration addresses the unsustainably high energy consumption required by the ‘proof of work’ model, making it even more attractive.”

Initially the deposited eth can not move until the merger at phase 1.5 when ethereum will go full Proof of Stake (PoS).

Shroff is still willing to lock his eth for at least two years as a long term bet on ethereum’s price.

He is to use Canada based CanETH to which he is a strategic adviser for staking this ◊20,000.

CanETH describes itself as a “Decentralized Staking Pool Network for ETH2” with an “infrastructure to manage over 20,000 validators.”

“The Proof of work Blockchain model uses more electricity than some countries,” says Dwain Pereira of CanETH Pool, further adding:

“These exorbitant energy costs are eventually paid using fiat currencies, which creates a downward pressure on value of the cryptocurrency. So the Proof of Stake model will be both energy efficient and more lucrative for stakers.”

That’s an interesting argument as miners have to cover the cost of running their farms, which is obviously paid with the bitcoin they mine.

Naturally that creates some pressure on price as it has to cover the new mining supply. While for eth staking, the cost is visually zero besides the capital of 32 eth.

Therefore one isn’t obliged to sell to cover costs, which may create different dynamics for ethereum’s price.

Hence this bet by Shroff the whale with his ◊20,000 stake making him the biggest known staker so far.