There are several reasons why many crypto enthusiasts were not happy with the transition of the Ethereum network to the PoS model. Centralization is the biggest concern of the community. Now, when the dust settled and people have had some time to think about the merger with a clearer head, critics started talking about the potential downsides of the PoS model as implemented by Ethereum. On the other hand, talks about Cardano became even louder.
Cardano seems to be a better network
Some users believe that the high price of becoming a validator on the Ethereum network is an obstacle that prevents true decentralization from taking over the ecosystem. There are multiple reasons why Buterin and the team decided to pick the 32ETH stake size for validators. The reasoning appears sound and logical, but it still rubs the community the wrong way.
Even after a massive 15% drop in price since the merge, 32ETH equals $46K which is a massive amount of money for the vast majority of individual investors. It prohibits many active members of the community from meaningfully participating in the network and earning money. Some critics of the switch to the PoS model point out that previously miners with a PC equipped with a strong GPU could earn ETH and be validators. Now, this feature is locked behind a “pay wall”.
Flexible staking is much better for users
Cardano users stake 5.5 ADA with a 0.17 ADA fee which equals $2.75. Even if the price goes up 100x, it will still cost less than $300 to stake. Another problem is that ETH seems to be experiencing a notable consolidation of ETH production. For example, LIDO controls about 30% of all staked ETH and comprises half of the pool alongside Kraken and Coinbase. Again, Cardano’s biggest stakeholder is Binance with 11%.
Cardano offers a dynamic staking system that reduces or increases your stake based on how much you spend. If the total size of assets in your wallet decreases, the stake will also go down and vice versa.