Ethereum's staking rate has reached a record 36.3% of total supply, even as the ETH price fell. Queue data shows far more ETH waiting to enter staking than to leave it.
More than a third of all ether is now locked in staking. According to Token Terminal data, Ethereum's staking rate climbed to 36.3% of total supply, up from the previous record of 32.4% set in June 2026.
That is a jump of nearly four percentage points in five months, and it came while the market was falling.
Queues show demand to stake is still growing
Reports show that about 2.42 million ETH is waiting to start staking, with an estimated wait of around 42 days. The exit queue, meanwhile, sits at zero.
That marks a reversal from late 2025. The exit backlog peaked near 2.67 million ETH in September before falling to almost nothing by January 2026.
The network now counts roughly 897,000 active validators, and stakers earn an annual rate of about 2.6%. Validators lock up ETH to verify transactions and propose new blocks in Ethereum's proof-of-stake system.
Institutions drive the growth
Much of the growth has come from large players. Ethereum treasury firm BitMine has steadily added to its staked position, while staking features in spot Ether ETFs have opened the door for traditional investors to earn yield. BitMine and Grayscale were among the institutions driving staking to record levels.
Analysts at XWIN Research Japan, writing on CryptoQuant, noted that staking levels continued to climb during the sharp corrections of 2022 and 2023.
Staking climbs while the ETH price lags
ETH is trading near $2,000, down roughly 18% over the past month. Bitcoin's drop below $70,000 and outflows from spot Ether ETFs have weighed on the whole market.
Staked ETH cannot be sold instantly, so every coin that enters staking leaves the pool of ETH readily available on the market. Some investors watch that gap between price and network commitment, as supply tightens underneath a weak chart.
Source: Bitcoinist
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