Ethereum (@ethereum) staking reached an all-time high of 43.8 million $ETH at the end of the third quarter, according to Bitwise's (@Bitwise) latest staking report. The figure represents 35.9
Ethereum (@ethereum) staking reached an all-time high of 43.8 million $ETH at the end of the third quarter, according to Bitwise's (@Bitwise) latest staking report. The figure represents 35.9% of the total supply. Bitwise published the report on October 20.
The milestone came even as returns for stakers continued to shrink, a trend that also showed up on Solana (@solana) $SOL.
Net staking inflows totaled 1.99 million ETH during the quarter, and Ethereum staking has now increased for six straight quarters. Yields moved in the opposite direction. Ethereum's total staking yield declined to 2.63% from 2.81% in the previous quarter.
Bitwise's explanation is that rewards are shared among more participants. Its researchers attributed the decline to the growing amount of ETH entering staking, which spreads rewards across a larger group. The report also points to where the yield comes from: more than 96% of Ethereum's staking yield came from newly issued ETH, according to Crypto Economy's summary of the report.
Institutional demand played a role. Bitwise reported that Bitmine's stake rose from roughly 410,000 tokens in December to 5.07 million by late September, driving much of Ethereum's overall staking growth.
The number of validators fell, but Bitwise links that to consolidation rather than unstaking. Ethereum's validator count dropped to 881,000 from about 1.1 million, which Bitwise attributed to operators consolidating validators after the Pectra upgrade while the amount of staked ETH was maintained.
Solana ended the third quarter with 69% of its supply staked, while its gross annualized yield dropped to 5.99% from 6.38%.Active stake climbed to a record 440.5 million SOL. The report's coverage also included other networks, with NEAR at 46% of supply staked and a reward rate of 4.87%, which leaves Solana with the highest staked share among the networks cited here.
Solana's validator set also shrank. The count fell from 696 to 659 during the quarter, which Bitwise attributed to cost pressures, leaving it about 30% lower than a year earlier. Network activity rose over the same period: Solana recorded 14.2 billion transactions, up 45% from the second quarter.
The data suggests staking demand on both networks is holding up despite lower returns, though rising participation may keep compressing per-staker rewards. If participation keeps rising, the per-staker reward could keep compressing because more ETH is splitting the same pool.
The Block: Ethereum staking hits record as yields fall and Solana activity grows
Benzinga: Ethereum, Solana, HYPE growth isn't lifting staking yields
FXStreet: Ethereum staking hits record 43.8M ETH as yields fall to 2.63%
