Staking and mining are two ways blockchains secure themselves. Mining uses electricity and hardware; staking locks up crypto. Ethereum's shift to staking cut energy use by 99.95%. For most people, staking is cheaper, easier, and more profitable.
Staking replaces mining in Proof of Stake blockchains by letting users secure networks with their crypto holdings instead of energy-hungry hardware. Ethereum’s switch proved it works at scale - cleaner, cheaper, and more democratic.