Switch to seedless. Get 30% off with SWITCH30 till Oct 21Ethereum staking hits record despite yield drop
6.8 Tech Ethereum staking hit a record 43.8M ETH in Q3 2026 (36% of supply), while yields dropped to 2.63%. Validator numbers fell, but net inflows and institutional participation remained strong.
Ethereum staking reached a record 43.8 million ETH by the end of Q3 2026, representing about 36% of the total supply, according to Bitwise’s Q4 2026 Staking Report. This marked the sixth consecutive quarter of growth, with net inflows of nearly 2 million ETH during the period. Despite the increase in staked ETH, annualized staking yields fell to 2.63% from 2.81% in the previous quarter, as rewards were distributed among more participants. The number of active validators dropped from approximately 1.1 million to 881,000, following operator consolidation after the Pectra upgrade, which improved validator efficiency. Institutional staking played a significant role in driving inflows, with most staking yield coming from newly issued ETH. The quarter also saw a broader market upturn and lower onchain activity costs, though network revenue and staking rewards continued to decline. Similar trends of increased staking and falling yields were observed in Solana and other proof-of-stake networks.
