Top 10 Ethereum Staking Statistics

We checked every figure below on 5 October 2026 against validator queue data, issuer filings and protocol reports.

1. 43.7 Million ETH Is Staked, 35.8% of Supply

Validators hold 43.7 million ETH, according to validatorqueue.com, which draws its figures from the beaconcha.in block explorer. This represents 35.76 percent of a supply near 122 million ETH and is worth close to $118 billion at an ETH price around $2,700.

Staking grew through a falling market. Lido's first-half report recorded 36.3 million ETH staked on 1 January and 43.1 million on 30 June. That was a 19 percent increase over six months in which ETH lost 47 percent of its dollar value.

Claims that more than half of all ETH is staked compared lifetime deposits with historical issuance. CoinDesk reported that method as misleading. The live share of supply remains just under 36 percent.

2. Validator Count Has Fallen to About 868,000

Ethereum has 868,121 active validators, compared with roughly 975,000 in January and a peak near 1.1 million in mid-2025. With staked ETH rising over the same period, the average validator now holds about 50 ETH by our calculation, well above the old 32 ETH ceiling.

The Pectra upgrade in May 2025 made this consolidation possible. It raised the maximum balance a single validator can hold from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH, allowing operators to merge dozens of validators into one. Earnings above 32 ETH keep counting towards the merged validator's stake, so rewards compound automatically.

On 18 September, Lido began the largest merger yet. Its node operators are folding more than 265,000 validators into about 4,000, which Lido expects to cut the network's validator count by about a third. Every node will have fewer signatures to process. That eases hardware demands and supports plans to make transactions irreversible sooner.

3. Staking Yield Sits Near 2.6%

The network-wide staking APR, or annual percentage rate before provider fees, is 2.63 percent. BitMine's weekly disclosures report a similar figure. In late September, its seven-day yield on more than 5 million staked ETH was 2.62 percent.

Ethereum's reward formula explains the decline. The total reward budget grows with the square root of staked ETH, meaning a doubling of stake raises the budget by only about 41 percent. Each validator receives a smaller share. Our calculation puts consensus rewards alone at about 2.5 percent with today's 43.7 million ETH staked, down from about 2.8 percent at January's 36.3 million.

The remaining yield comes from priority fees and MEV, short for maximal extractable value. MEV is the extra amount block builders pay validators for the right to order transactions. Both revenue sources are thin this quarter. Our Ethereum gas tracker has often shown base fees near 1 gwei, a very low reading that leaves little fee revenue to share.

4. Entry Queue Runs 25 Days as Exits Hit a Yearly High

Ethereum limits stake entering or leaving to 256 ETH per epoch of about 6.4 minutes. That works out to roughly 57,600 ETH a day in each direction. The entry queue holds 1.46 million ETH, enough for a wait of about 25 days, compared with a May peak above 3.5 million ETH and a two-month wait.

Exits were close to zero until 30 September. MetaMask then disclosed a security incident in its staking infrastructure and began pulling its validators out of Lido as a precaution. The exit queue peaked near 851,000 ETH on 2 October before falling to 786,000 ETH three days later.

Leaving now takes about 14 days in the queue, followed by roughly a week for the withdrawal sweep that pays exited balances to their owner's address. Lido expects the affected ETH to be staked again and estimates the round trip could take up to 45 days. Kiln's similar precautionary exit in September 2025 pushed the queue past 2.6 million ETH. Operator security now moves these queues as much as market sentiment does.

5. Institutions Hold More Than a Third of Staked ETH

Institutions absorbed most of the 6.8 million ETH added to staking in the first half. Lido's report shows their share rising from 25.9 percent to 35.3 percent of all staked ETH over those six months. The segment covers treasury companies, ETFs and custodians.

The largest single source is BitMine Immersion Technologies. Its 28 September update lists holdings of 6,001,302 ETH, or 4.9 percent of supply. Of that, 5,067,309 ETH is staked through its MAVAN validator network and partner operators. BitMine alone therefore accounts for about 11.6 percent of all staked ETH.

BitMine is also the biggest digital asset treasury company, a category of listed firms that hold crypto as a balance-sheet reserve. Our Ethereum treasuries tracker follows the full group. The reasoning behind BitMine's 5 percent target is covered in our BitMine Ethereum thesis explainer. These holders stake for income and seldom sell, removing supply from the market while concentrating validator power in fewer hands.

6. Lido Leads at About 21% as Its Share Shrinks

Lido remains the largest staking entity, with 9.13 million ETH at the end of June. Its share nevertheless fell from 23.93 percent to 21.18 percent over six months. That is far below its 32 percent peak in 2023, when one protocol's proximity to a third of the validator set prompted warnings.

Although Lido added 386,000 ETH in the first half, it captured under 6 percent of the network's net growth. Most new institutional money went to custodians, exchanges and in-house validators. The leading entities on 30 June were:

1. Lido: 21.2 percent of staked ETH, spread across independent node operators and issued to users as stETH.
2. BitMine: 11.5 percent, from a staking position that did not exist a year earlier.
3. Coinbase: 10.9 percent across retail staking, its cbETH token and institutional custody clients.
4. Binance: 7.9 percent, almost entirely pooled exchange staking.

In response, Lido is building custom vaults for institutions and, for the first time, requiring professional node operators to post their own ETH as a bond.

7. Staking ETFs Now Pay Yield to Shareholders

US spot Ether funds could not stake until regulators settled the legal question. The SEC, joined by the CFTC, issued an interpretation of how securities law applies to crypto assets on 17 March 2026. It treats protocol staking as outside the definition of a securities offering, removing the main obstacle to yield-paying funds.

Grayscale's Ethereum Staking ETF (ETHE) made the first staking distribution by a US Ether fund in January for rewards earned since October 2025. BlackRock launched its iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB) on 12 March. The fund has paid monthly distributions since June and held $1.18 billion in net assets on 2 October.

An August amendment to Fidelity's Ethereum Fund provides for the trust to keep 85 percent of staking rewards, with quarterly cash distributions once staking begins. From 27 August, 21Shares renamed its product the 21Shares Ethereum Staking ETF. Our Ethereum ETF tracker lists fund holdings.

Shareholder yields fall below the network rate because funds leave some ETH unstaked for redemptions. Sponsors and custodians also take a cut of rewards, as do node operators. We estimate a net yield near 1.9 percent before the management fee for a fund that stakes about 87 percent of its ETH and passes on 82 percent of rewards.

8. Liquid Staking Holds About 15 Million ETH

Liquid staking allows holders to stake any amount in exchange for a tradable liquid staking token, or LST. This token tracks the deposit plus accrued rewards. Holders can sell it or use it as loan collateral without unstaking the underlying ETH. Our guide to liquid staking derivatives explains the mechanics.

At our last check, DefiLlama's liquid staking dashboard showed about 15 million ETH in these protocols, roughly a third of all staked ETH. Lido's stETH accounts for about 62 percent of the segment. Binance's wBETH holds about 25 percent, or 3.7 million ETH, followed by Rocket Pool at about 528,000 ETH. StakeWise, Liquid Collective and mETH Protocol sit behind them.

Much of the ETH lending in decentralised finance (DeFi) depends on LST collateral. Messari's research on staking issuance found that LSTs backed over 90 percent of the $4.4 billion in ETH-denominated loans on Aave, Spark and Morpho. A large part of this borrowing funds leveraged staking, where holders borrow ETH against an LST and stake it again. Our review of the best liquid staking platforms compares the main providers.

9. Restaking Has Shrunk to About $5 Billion

Restaking uses staked ETH as collateral for other networks. Those networks pay for security and can penalise the stake if operators misbehave. EigenLayer, now branded EigenCloud, built the category and remains dominant. DefiLlama puts its total value locked, the dollar value of deposited assets, at about $5 billion, down from a peak near $22 billion in August 2025.

A hack accelerated withdrawals from a sector already struggling with weak economics. In April 2026, an attacker exploited the cross-chain bridge behind Kelp DAO's restaking token for roughly $292 million. The failure involved the LayerZero messaging setup on which the bridge relied, and withdrawals spread across the sector. Extra yield never arrived at scale either. Early September data from DefiLlama showed roughly $10 billion of restaking deposits generating about $100,000 a week in fees, compared with over $27 million for liquid staking.

Once EigenLayer's largest source of deposits, ether.fi provided the clearest signal of the retreat. It removed restaking from its main weETH token in August and reported that under 1 percent of its assets remained restaked there. EigenCloud has since repositioned around verifiable computing for the services it secures.

10. Issuance Runs Near 1.1 Million ETH a Year

Newly created ETH pays rewards on every staked ETH. With 43.7 million ETH staked, our calculation of the protocol's reward formula puts annual issuance at about 1.1 million ETH, or roughly 3,000 ETH a day. This adds close to 0.9 percent to supply annually. At January's stake level, issuance was about 1 million ETH a year.

Ethereum burns the base fee of every transaction, which used to offset most issuance. Activity is now concentrated on cheaper layer 2 networks that settle to Ethereum, leaving the burn to cover only a small share. Supply has risen to about 122 million ETH from 120.5 million at the 2022 Merge, when staking replaced mining.

Dilution prompted the year's sharpest policy fight. Researchers including the Ethereum Foundation's Justin Drake published EIP-8363 in August. The proposal would burn a growing share of validator rewards as stake rises, bringing net issuance to zero at 60.25 million ETH staked. At today's ratio, it would roughly halve consensus rewards to about 1.2 percent. Its authors have withdrawn it from consideration for the Hegotá upgrade, but the dispute over how much Ethereum should pay for security remains unresolved.

What Is Ethereum Staking?

Ethereum staking involves locking ETH as a security deposit so the holder, or an operator acting for them, can run a validator. Validators propose new blocks and vote on those proposed by others. In return, the protocol pays newly issued ETH plus a share of transaction fees. Staking replaced mining in September 2022.

Validators risk their deposit if they act dishonestly. Signing two conflicting blocks results in slashing, which destroys part of the stake and ejects the validator from the network. Going offline carries a much smaller cost, a slow loss roughly equal to the rewards the validator would have earned.

Withdrawals are allowed at the pace set by the exit queue. This limit prevents the validator set from changing faster than the network can safely track. Waiting times therefore depend on how many others are leaving at once.

How to Stake ETH: Methods Compared

Staking methods offer different balances of control and convenience. Our guide to the best Ethereum staking platforms ranks individual providers.

• Solo staking: Run your own validator with at least 32 ETH and always-on hardware. You retain your keys and every reward while taking full responsibility for operational risk.
• Staking as a service: Keep the withdrawal keys and supply the ETH. A professional operator runs the validator for a fee.
• Liquid staking: Deposit any amount with a protocol such as Lido or Rocket Pool in exchange for an LST. Fees typically range from 10 to 14 percent of rewards.
• Exchange staking: Platforms such as Binance, Coinbase and Kraken stake on your behalf within your account. The exchange has custody of the ETH and usually charges the highest commission.
• Staking ETFs: Buy fund shares through a brokerage account. The fund stakes most of its ETH and pays net rewards in cash.
• Restaking: Use staked ETH or an LST to secure additional services. Extra rewards come with additional penalty conditions.

How Much Can You Earn Staking Ethereum?

A solo validator earns the full network rate of about 2.6 percent. Other stakers must subtract their provider's share. A liquid staking protocol charging 10 percent of rewards leaves about 2.3 percent, although stETH was paying close to 2.2 percent on DefiLlama at our last check. Staking ETFs net roughly 1.9 percent.

At 2.6 percent, staking ten ETH for a year earns about 0.26 ETH. That is worth roughly $700 with ETH priced at $2,700. Use the Datawallet staking calculator to model other amounts, rates and holding periods.

The 25-day entry queue earns no rewards, costing about 0.18 percent of the deposit before staking begins. Pooled-deposit providers and LSTs bought on the open market avoid this delay.

Price has a far greater effect on the dollar result than yield. ETH's 47 percent fall in the first half of 2026 erased eighteen years of staking income at today's rate, though it has since recovered much of that decline. Staking increases the ETH in a position while leaving its dollar value fully exposed to the market.

Ethereum Staking Trends to Watch

Protocol changes over the next twelve months will affect validator earnings and how quickly stakers can leave.

• Glamsterdam: Ethereum's next upgrade reaches the Sepolia test network on 6 October 2026. The Ethereum Foundation says the mainnet date has not been decided. Our Glamsterdam explainer covers its full scope.
• Builder payments inside the protocol: Under Glamsterdam's main staking change, the protocol will handle payments from block builders to validators. These payments currently pass through third-party relays that validators must trust.
• Faster exits: EIP-8061, also included in Glamsterdam, roughly quadruples the exit limit without changing the entry cap. We estimate the current 786,000 ETH exit queue would clear in three to four days under that limit.
• Censorship resistance in Hegotá: Inclusion lists are central to the upgrade after Glamsterdam. They allow a rotating validator committee to force valid transactions into blocks. Our Hegotá explainer covers the details.
• Issuance reform: Withdrawing EIP-8363 postponed the debate over whether Ethereum overpays for security. A staking ratio heading towards 40 percent will bring the question back.
• Staking as the ETF default: BlackRock, Grayscale, Fidelity and 21Shares have all committed to staking. Ether funds that do not stake now have a visible yield disadvantage.

Risks of Staking Ethereum

A single loss event can outweigh years of modest staking rewards.

• Operator security: Both the MetaMask and Kiln incidents forced mass precautionary exits. Neither operator reported slashing, but stakers lost rewards during the exit and re-entry cycle.
• Smart contract and bridge risk: LSTs and restaking tokens rely on code and cross-chain bridges that can fail. The Kelp DAO exploit froze lending markets even for users who had never touched the faulty bridge.
• Exit delays: Leaving takes about three weeks today, compared with more than six in late 2025. Stakers cannot rely on being able to sell quickly in a falling market.
• LST price gaps: Slow exits can push a liquid staking token's market price below the value of the ETH it represents. This can cause lenders to forcibly close leveraged staking positions.
• Slashing: A validator loses part of its stake for signing conflicting blocks. Pectra reduced the initial penalty, although penalties still rise sharply when many validators are slashed together.
• Custody risk: Staking through an exchange or custodian exposes ETH to the company's solvency and any regulatory action against it.
• Policy risk: Reward rules can change. EIP-8363 demonstrated that a proposal to halve staking income can emerge within a single upgrade cycle.
• Price risk: Rewards are paid in ETH. A falling price can leave stakers holding more coins worth fewer dollars.

Final Thoughts

By late 2026, Ethereum staking has grown larger and more institutional than at any earlier point, while yields have fallen to new lows. Stake increased by a fifth in nine months, driven mainly by balance sheets and funds intending to hold for years.

The shift has resolved one concentration problem while creating another. Lido's share has fallen to about a fifth, but a single treasury company now controls more than a tenth of all staked ETH. The year's longest exit queue came from an operator security incident.

Individual stakers should expect about 2.6 percent before fees and allow weeks to enter or exit. Any yield above the network rate should be treated as compensation for additional risk.