Ethereum Staking Hits Record 43.8M ETH in Q3, Bitwise Says
Bitwise reports 43.8 million ETH staked at the end of Q3, or 35.9% of supply, as positive net inflows continued for a sixth quarter and gross yields fell.
Key Notes
- Bitwise reports 43.8 million ETH held by active validators at the end of Q3.
- Positive net staking inflows continued for a sixth consecutive quarter.
- Average annualized gross staking yield fell from 2.81% to 2.63%.
Ethereum staking reached a record 43.8 million ETH at the end of the third quarter, equivalent to 35.9% of total supply, according to Bitwise. The milestone came despite a decline in the rewards earned per staked coin.
Bitwise’s staking report, published October 20, looks back at activity through September. Its headline balance is a quarter-end measurement, rather than a live reading of how much ETH is staked today.
The quarter recorded 1.99 million ETH in net staking inflows, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of positive flows. Bitwise’s total for ETH held by active validators also includes accumulated rewards; it should not be treated as a count of new deposits alone.
More ETH committed, lower gross yields
The full report puts Ethereum’s average annualized staking yield at 2.63% in Q3, down from 2.81% in Q2. That measure is gross of operator fees, so it is not a promised net return for customers using a staking service.
Bitwise attributes the decline to a larger pool of active stake and lower execution rewards. More capital was committed to validation, but each ETH earned a smaller yield.
Staking is the process of committing ETH to validators that propose blocks and check the blockchain’s transactions. Ethereum’s documentation distinguishes running a validator directly from delegating its operation or using a pooled service. The method changes the operational responsibilities, fees and additional parties involved.
Token-denominated rewards are also separate from an investor’s dollar return. Earning more ETH does not protect a position from a fall in ETH’s market price.
Why validator counts can fall while stake grows
Bitwise reports that active validator records fell from close to 1.1 million to about 881,000 as operators consolidated following Pectra. That count is not the same as the number of independent people or companies operating validators.
EIP-7251 raised the maximum effective balance per validator to 2,048 ETH while preserving the 32 ETH minimum. An operator can therefore combine multiple validators into fewer records without withdrawing the corresponding stake. The change also allows eligible validators to compound consensus rewards.
Access to staking is expanding separately from the report’s Q3 snapshot. CoinScreamer recently covered Interactive Brokers’ rollout of ETH staking through zerohash for eligible clients. That October launch occurred after the quarter measured by Bitwise and should not be counted as an explanation for the September record.
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