Ethereum staking climbed to a record 43.8 million ETH by the end of September, bringing nearly 36% of the cryptocurrency’s supply into the network’s validator system even as annualized rewards declined, according to Bitwise’s third-quarter 2026 staking report.
The figures show Ethereum attracting a larger pool of long-term capital despite a lower return rate. Average annualized staking yield fell to 2.63% in the third quarter from 2.81% in the previous three months, while net staking inflows came in just below 2 million ETH. It was the sixth consecutive quarter of positive net flows.
Across the first nine months of 2026, Ethereum added 7.96 million ETH to staking, Bitwise said. The sustained deposits have reduced the liquid portion of the ETH supply available for trading, decentralized finance activity and other uses, while placing more of the network’s security in the hands of validators and staking providers.
More ETH is competing for rewards
Ethereum’s staking economics are increasingly shaped by the amount of ETH already locked. As the staking pool grows, the network’s rewards are shared across a larger base of validators and delegators, which can push down the annualized return received per staked coin.
The decline from 2.81% to 2.63% was modest, but it came during one of Ethereum’s strongest periods of staking inflows. Bitwise reported that more than 96% of Ethereum staking yield in the third quarter came from newly issued ETH. Transaction tips and maximal extractable value, or MEV — revenue earned by ordering transactions within blocks — made up the remaining share.
That composition leaves staking returns closely linked to Ethereum’s issuance schedule rather than transaction-driven revenue. Higher on-chain activity can lift the share of rewards from tips and MEV, but the third-quarter figures suggest those sources remained a relatively small contributor to the average validator return.
Ethereum network revenue fell to about $40.6 million in the third quarter from $63 million in the second quarter, according to Bitwise. Transaction fees totaled roughly $41 million during the quarter. Lower revenue reduces the amount of fee-related income available across the validator set, adding pressure to yields when the number of staked coins is rising.
The trend does not mean staking has stopped attracting capital. A 2.63% annualized return, paid in ETH, can still appeal to holders seeking protocol-native income and exposure to Ethereum’s long-term price movements. Yet the quarter’s data makes staking look less like a high-yield trade and more like an infrastructure allocation whose returns depend on issuance, fees and the pace of deposits.
BitMine’s holdings add to demand
Bitwise identified BitMine as a major source of Ethereum staking demand. The company’s staked ETH reportedly rose more than 1,000%, from 410,000 ETH in December to 5.07 million ETH as of September 27.
Such a large increase by one holder illustrates how corporate treasury strategies can influence staking data. A multi-million ETH position entering staking can materially affect quarterly net flows, particularly in a market where total deposits are measured in millions rather than tens of millions of coins.
The concentration also raises practical questions for Ethereum’s staking ecosystem. Large holders can use multiple validators, delegated staking arrangements or other custody structures to distribute operational risk. The report did not detail BitMine’s validator configuration, but the scale of its position places it among the entities capable of influencing aggregate staking participation.
Company disclosures published in mid-October indicated that BitMine had increased its ETH holdings beyond 6 million coins. Based on Ethereum’s supply at the time, that would place the company near 5% of the total ETH supply, although its total holdings and its staked balance are separate measures.
Solana records stronger staking participation
Solana also reached a new staking high during the third quarter. Active staking rose to 440.5 million SOL, representing 69% of the token’s total supply, Bitwise reported. That share is far above Ethereum’s 36%, reflecting the different staking designs and token distribution patterns of the two networks.
Gross staking yields on Solana fell by about 6% during the quarter, while newly issued SOL accounted for 90% of staking returns. Like Ethereum, Solana’s staking rewards remain heavily tied to protocol emissions rather than fees paid by users.
Solana’s network activity moved in the opposite direction from Ethereum’s revenue trend. The blockchain processed 14.2 billion transactions in the third quarter, up 45% from the second quarter, while average transaction costs remained mostly flat, according to Bitwise. Transaction fees increased 49% to $76 million.
Tokenized equities were one contributor to that activity. Bitwise said trading volume in tokenized stocks rose 45% to more than $6.9 billion during the quarter. The increase suggests that low-cost blockchain trading venues are drawing greater use for financial products designed to track traditional shares.
Yield pressure puts fees in focus
The third-quarter data presents a shared challenge for both networks: record staking participation can strengthen economic security, but it also makes base rewards less generous for each individual coin committed to validators.
For Ethereum, the drop in fees and network revenue means stakers received limited support from transaction-related income as more ETH entered the staking pool. For Solana, sharply higher transaction counts and fee revenue provided a stronger activity backdrop, though 90% of staking returns still came from token issuance.
The result is a more competitive environment for staking capital. Validators and large ETH or SOL holders seeking to maintain returns will increasingly depend on operational efficiency, transaction tips, MEV opportunities and the level of on-chain activity, rather than relying solely on inflation-funded rewards.
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