Staking pure ETH vs derivative ETH

TLDR; Looking to stake ETH directly on an L2 if that’s possible post-merge. I’m US-based.

Here’s my current situation: I’ve been holding 1/3 of my ETH (and adding to my position) in my Nexo wallet for years now. I hold enough Nexo tokens to earn ETH interest at a premium rate of 6% APY, in fixed monthly terms. The rest is held in my ledger.

As we approach the merge, I’m thinking about how to stake the other 2/3 of my ETH which is just sitting pretty right now. Ideally I’d like to stake this amount rather than pool it all in a centralized wallet.

My staking concerns are mostly around inefficient taxes and derivative token risk.

With Lido and Rocketpool, a derivative token is used while you stake with them. It’s not actual ETH and you need to trust the contract supporting it. The exchange also concerns me because I’ll need to realize years of gains… I understand that the token appreciation will bake in the staking gains, but I’d rather pay taxes on incremental gains (if I choose to sell them).

Personally, I’d rather keep pure ETH and hope to stake it non-custodially. Will L2 or side-chain staking become an option after the merge?

Thank you for your ideas and kindness.