Cambridge study: 31% of Ethereum nodes in US, centralization risks

Cambridge finds 31% of Ethereum nodes in the US, 39% in the EU, mostly on three providers. Over a third offline risks halting finalization. Energy use down 99.98% since the Merge.

A recent study by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance shows that around 31% of Ethereum node activity is based in the United States, while about 39% is in the European Union (excluding the UK). This points to a strong Western concentration of nodes. Most nodes are hosted by just three providers: Hetzner, AWS, and OVH, raising concerns about network resilience. If more than a third of validators go offline at once, Ethereum checkpoints could stop finalizing. The relationship between nodes and validators is complex, with no simple one-to-one mapping. The study also notes legal implications, referencing the SEC’s 2022 claim of jurisdiction over Ethereum due to the high number of US-based nodes. On the environmental front, Ethereum’s annual electricity consumption is now estimated at 7.9 gigawatt-hours—a 99.98% reduction since the Merge—with over 56% of energy coming from sustainable sources. Despite some viewing the current distribution as healthy, risks from geographic and provider concentration, as well as client software centralization, remain key issues for the community.