Ethereum reduced its energy consumption by more than 99% when it switched from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake.
✅ TRUE — Ethereum's own documentation states that The Merge reduced annual electricity consumption by approximately 99.988%. Source: Ethereum Energy Consumption
You need at least 32 ETH to run an Ethereum node.
❌ FALSE — THE LIE. Running an Ethereum node requires no ETH at all. The 32 ETH threshold applies exclusively to activating a validator — a separate role that participates in block attestation and proposal. Anyone can run a full node to verify the chain using client software (e.g. Geth + Lighthouse) with zero stake. What made it plausible: the 32 ETH figure is real, prominent, and closely associated with Ethereum's post-Merge architecture, making it easy to conflate "participating in the network" with "running a validator." The source that exposes it: Ethereum — Run a Node, which explicitly states no ETH is needed to run a node.
An Ethereum validator must have at least 32 ETH deposited to participate directly in Ethereum's consensus.
✅ TRUE — Ethereum's consensus documentation confirms that a validator requires a minimum deposit of exactly 32 ETH to be activated and participate directly in attestation and block proposals. Staking pools (e.g. Lido, Rocket Pool) allow smaller participation, but those pools must still meet the 32 ETH threshold at the protocol level. Source: Ethereum — Block Proposal / Validators