Key Takeaways
What major change can holders expect from Chainlink staking v0.3?
Staking v0.3 will raise the staking cap and expand services beyond ETH/USD to boost participation.
How might staking v0.3 affect LINK’s price?
Based on past upgrades, v0.3 is likely to trigger a price surge followed by a market correction.
Since its launch, Chainlink [LINK] has rolled out two major staking upgrades: v0.1 and v0.2, each designed to expand participation, increase the staking cap, and improve compatibility.
Thanks to these ongoing enhancements, Chainlink has steadily positioned itself as a global benchmark for both traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi).
With v0.1 and v0.2 now established, developers and ecosystem participants are turning their attention to the next phase: staking v0.3.
So, what changes can we expect from v0.3?
Staking v0.3 changes for holders
Notably, staking v0.3 is expected to build on the foundation of staking v0.2, launched in 2023, and introduce various features for holders.
For starters, staking v0.3 will increase the staking cap, just like the v0.1 and v0.2 upgrades. This will expand the pool size and, in turn, allow broader community participation.
According to staking. Chain, Chainlink’s staking v0.2, saw the staking pool expanded to 40,875,00 LINK. This upgrade saw the community staking protocol rise from 22.5 million LINK for community stakers on v0.1.
Source: Staking.chain
Under this set precedent, the v0.3 upgrade could see the chain achieve its long-term goal of 75 million LINK staked as per Chainlink’s staking roadmap.
This will allow more community participation, especially now that the chain has partnered with institutional players.
Secondly, under staking v0.3, holders are likely to see services expand beyond ETH/USD, thus including other Chainlink services. In this regard, the network’s cross-chain Interoperability protocol will be extended to address changing market dynamics.
Source: Dune
Currently, Ethereum [ETH] accounts for 62% of CCIP transactions and adoption, despite its higher gas fees. Staking v0.3 aims to enhance CCIP functionality, enabling other blockchains to compete more effectively and potentially lowering transaction costs.
Additionally, v0.3 is expected to introduce more rewarding mechanisms for holders. Beyond emission-based rewards, holders may also earn from user fees generated by services secured through staking.
Emission-based rewards alone have proven insufficient, despite approximately $663 million in total staked value; actual revenue remains minimal.
Source: Artemis
In fact, holders’ daily revenue has fluctuated significantly, even dropping below 1k, currently down 97% to $441.
Anticipated changes for node operators
Just like holders, node operators are expected to see significant changes with the next staking upgrade.
With staking v0.3, node operators will face increased responsibilities due to the expanded staking pool. This shift brings the potential for higher rewards, but also greater penalties for underperformance.
Currently, node operator participation is fairly balanced, with Syncode holding 8.3%, Linkriver with 7.7%, and Wetez with 7.6%.
Source: Dune
However, with the next upgrade, node operator will play a significant role in the network’s security, and their rewards will increase based on their effectiveness.
Another change that node operators are likely to see is a drastic shift in dynamic delegation. As such, auto-delegation will become highly dynamic.
This will result in changes to the amount of community stake delegated to operators solely based on their historical performance.
Node operators will see more stake delegated, while less reliable operators will record less or no stake.
Implications on LINK
Undoubtedly, Chainlink’s staking upgrades have historically had a significant impact on Chainlink’s [LINK] price movement. For example, when v0.2 went live for members on December 7, 2023, LINK jumped from $14 to $17 before a correction followed.
The same pattern emerged in June 2022 after the release of the staking roadmap. LINK surged from $6 to $9, then the market corrected.
Therefore, based on the historical cycle, the release of staking v0.3 will have a significant impact on LINK price charts, driven by an expanded staking community.