S&P Global Ratings analysts Andrew O’Neill and Alexandre Birry published a report on Tuesday February 20th, advising that "U.S. spot ether ETFs that incorporate staking could become large enough to change validator concentrations in the Ethereum network, for better or worse," and "It is therefore critical to understand how ETF issuers' choices will drive concentration risks.”
The analysts say this because they expect the SEC to approve spot Ether ETF filings this May and some of the firms filing such as Ark Invest and Franklin Templeton intend to stake the ether which underlies their funds, in order to generate more yeild. The analysts say that funds would be likely custody with an institutional custodian and not a crypto native decentralized protocol such as Lido. Interestingly, Coinbase is the second largest Ethereum validator after Lido.
It’s even more interesting because when this report was published by the analysts on Tuesday, Mercury entered into Aquarius, into immediate trine to Coinbase the company’s natal Mercury and into immediate transit of Coinbase the public company’s natal Jupiter.
Mercury also began to oppose Ethereum’s natal Jupiter. Ethereum’s natal Jupiter is Lord of its 2nd and 5th Houses of wealth, in the Nakshatra of Magha. This placement means that Ethereum gets a lot of help from special friends, and that’s why Ethereum has fluorished into such an ecosystem. Ethereum’s natal Mercury is placed in its 9th House and is Lord of its 8th and 11th Houses which are capable of creating disaster, but due to the placement of natal Mars, Ethereum averts disaster.
I See that it is important to consider what these analysts have said. This is also because in my book ETHEREUM BY 2026, I wrote about a “death-defying” situation for Ethereum which happens at the moment in 2026 when Jupiter transits with Ketu in Leo. At that moment, Jupiter will be transiting in opposition to Coinbase’s natal Jupiter. I See that those S&P Global analysts are friends to Ethereum in a way and that again, what they’re saying should be taken very seriously.