Ethereum leads weekly drop in $89.86B staking market cap

By Tom Whitfield

All 10 leading staking assets recorded weekly declines in staking market capitalization in the November 12 rankings, with Ethereum posting the largest drop at 15.24%. Ethereum nevertheless ranked first at $89.86 billion, while Hyperliquid led the 365-day total-return ranking at 77.07%.

What changed in staking market value?

The top of the ranking pairs current market capitalization with weekly performance across the five assets shown.

• Ethereum, first: $89.86 billion, down 15.24% for the week.
• Solana, second: $35.60 billion, down 13.57%.
• Hyperliquid, third: $30.82 billion, down 14.29%.
• BNB Chain, fourth: $15.88 billion, down 7.33%.
• Tron, fifth: $13.87 billion, down 0.56%.

Ethereum and Hyperliquid recorded the largest weekly declines, at 15.24% and 14.29%. Every leading asset declined, so the contraction was not confined to one protocol; Ethereum nevertheless remained the largest staking market by capitalization.

How high were the staking ratios?

The data reports staking ratios for six assets, providing a measure separate from their market-cap rankings.

• Sui: 70.72%, the highest ratio.
• Solana: 68.00%.
• Bittensor: 63.66%.
• Cardano: 56.64%.
• Hyperliquid: 46.20%.
• Tron: 46.19%.

Hyperliquid and Tron had nearly identical ratios despite weekly market-cap declines of 14.29% and 0.56%, respectively. The comparison shows why a falling market valuation does not, by itself, establish whether staking participation changed.

Which assets led by staking wallet count?

Solana ranked first among the assets with reported wallet counts, followed closely by Cardano and Ethereum.

• Solana: 1,243,957 staking wallets.
• Cardano: 1,241,047.
• Ethereum: 798,894.

Avalanche’s staking wallet count rose 15.57% over the week, while Bittensor’s fell 99.39%. Changes among the other assets with available wallet data were comparatively small.

The movements separate wallet participation from aggregate market capitalization. Avalanche registered wallet growth even as all 10 tracked assets lost capitalization, while Bittensor combined a market-value decline with a 99.39% contraction in wallets.

What do the reward rates show?

BNB Chain had the highest real reward rate at 5.70%, while Sui and Bittensor recorded negative rates.

• BNB Chain: 5.70%.
• Avalanche: 2.87%.
• Tron: 2.70%.
• NEAR Protocol: 2.52%.
• Ethereum: 1.66%.
• Solana: 1.33%.
• Sui: -0.88%.
• Bittensor: -6.73%.

The reward ranking places BNB Chain above Avalanche, Tron, NEAR Protocol, Ethereum and Solana. Sui and Bittensor stood below zero on the same measure.

Estimated annual rewards followed a different order, led by Ethereum at $2.33 billion and Solana at $1.83 billion.

• Ethereum: $2.33 billion.
• Solana: $1.83 billion.
• Hyperliquid: $694.67 million.
• Tron: $451.80 million.
• BNB Chain: $135.26 million.

Estimated annual rewards for BNB Chain rose 37.88% over the week. Bittensor’s fell 33.42%, Ethereum’s declined 15.79% and Sui’s dropped 14.13%.

How do annual returns compare?

Bittensor led annual staking ROI at 13.69%, even though its 365-day total return remained negative.

• Bittensor: 13.69% annual staking ROI.
• Avalanche: 6.68%.
• Solana: 5.79%.
• NEAR Protocol: 4.77%.
• Tron: 3.25%.
• Ethereum: 2.80%.
• BNB Chain: 2.43%.
• Hyperliquid: 2.25%.
• Cardano: 2.23%.
• Sui: 1.64%.

Hyperliquid led 365-day total returns, which combine price changes and staking rewards, at 77.07%. NEAR Protocol returned 36.13%, while Tron also remained positive at 8.77%.

• Hyperliquid: 77.07% total return.
• NEAR Protocol: 36.13%.
• Tron: 8.77%.
• Cardano: -69.65%.
• Sui: -60.88%.
• Avalanche: -48.99%.
• Solana: -45.74%.
• Ethereum: -41.52%.
• Bittensor: -36.27%.
• BNB Chain: -30.53%.

Seven of the 10 assets recorded negative annual total returns. For most assets, price losses outweighed staking rewards over the year, separating return performance from the staking ROI ranking.

Future snapshots will show whether Avalanche’s wallet growth persists, whether Bittensor’s 99.39% contraction becomes a lasting participation shift, and whether BNB Chain’s 37.88% reward-estimate increase translates into a larger staking market capitalization.