Ethereum Staking Hits Record 43.8 Million ETH, Equal to 35.9% of Supply

Ethereum staking climbed to a record high, while major proof-of-stake networks saw staking balances increase and reward rates decline, according to a new analysis.

Bitwise said in its fourth-quarter 2026 staking report, released on October 20, that 43.8 million ETH was staked at the end of the third quarter, the highest level on record. That was equal to 35.9% of total supply.

Net staking inflows totaled 1.99 million ETH during the quarter. Ethereum staking has increased for six straight quarters.

Staking yields, however, fell. Ethereum's total staking yield declined to 2.63% from 2.81% in the previous quarter. On Solana, 69% of total supply was staked, while the reward rate dropped to 5.99% from 6.38%. On NEAR, 46% of supply was staked and the reward rate was 4.87%.

Validator counts declined on both Ethereum and Solana. Ethereum's validator count fell to 881,000 from about 1.1 million. Bitwise attributed the drop to operators consolidating validators after the Pectra upgrade, while the actual amount of staked ETH was maintained.

Solana's validator count fell to 659 from 696. That was about 30% lower than a year earlier. Bitwise cited operating costs as the main reason for the decline.

On-chain traditional finance also continued to grow. Tokenized stock trading volume on Solana rose 45% from the previous quarter to $6.93 billion. On Hyperliquid, non-crypto assets accounted for 36.5% of perpetual futures trading volume.

Tokenized stock trading also increased rapidly on Robinhood Chain. Average daily volume rose 22-fold between July and September.

Bitwise said network usage costs are falling and staking balances are growing, but the yields that compensate users are declining as well. Major proof-of-stake networks are shifting toward a structure that supports growth at lower cost, it added.