Height  
comparison  
for scale 

PoS Ethereum 

Half a penny 

0.95 cm 

(0.0026 TWh) 

YouTube 
 
Burj Khalifa 

830 m  
(244 TWh) 

a16z crypto 

State of Crypto 

2023 

Trends to Watch: Scaling Blockchains 

19 

Staking transforms collateral into outsized 
economic security 

Secures 

ETH staked* 

$33B 

12.6x               

Ratio of total value 
secured to value 
staked. 

Source: ultrasound.money. Data is as of 3/31/2023. 
*Staking is the process by which “validators” post collateral to secure a blockchain. 

ETH on Ethereum 

$223B 

ERC20 tokens 
on Ethereum 

$172B 

NFTs on Ethereum 

$22B 

Total economy 

$417B 

a16z crypto 

State of Crypto 

2023 

Trends to Watch: Zero Knowledge Proofs 

20 

Uses for zero knowledge (ZK) proofs are becoming 
tangible 

What is a ZK proof? 
A cryptographic method for proving a statement is true 
without revealing any information about the statement – 
other than that it is true. 

How can blockchains use ZK proofs? 

1.
2.
State-of-Crypto2023