Ethereum Staking Ratio Hits Record 36.3% of Supply

Ethereum's staking ratio has reached an all-time high of 36.3% of the cryptocurrency's total circulating supply, on-chain data shows, even as the price of ETH has fallen roughly 15.5% over the past week to $2,042.94.

The milestone means more than one-third of all ETH in circulation is now locked in staking contracts rather than available for sale or active trading — a structural shift in the asset's effective float that continues despite weakening price action and the loss of the $2,250 support level.

Total staked ETH climbed from approximately 42.1 million ETH, or about 34.5% of supply, in mid-August to about 44.5 million ETH, or around 36.5%, at press time. The accumulation paused briefly and has resumed a steady climb since late October.

What does the queue data tell practitioners?

The validator entry and exit queues paint a picture of persistent demand to stake. At press time, 911,938 ETH was waiting to enter staking, with an estimated wait of 16 days and 7 hours. On the other side, 264,211 ETH was queued to exit, facing a 5-day, 16-hour wait plus a 7-day sweep delay.

Put simply, roughly 3.5 times more ETH is trying to enter staking than leave it. Both queues are constrained by the same protocol churn limit of 256 validators per epoch, which caps how much ETH can join or exit in each interval. That fixed throughput is why a large backlog translates directly into longer waits. A full exit currently takes roughly 12 to 13 days once the sweep delay is included — an important operational figure for any treasury or fund planning liquidity around unstaking.

The entry backlog is slowly shrinking, but net flows remain decisively positive toward staking.

Corporate treasuries are driving the trend

Digital asset treasuries (DATs) account for a substantial share of the growth. BitMine, the largest Ethereum DAT, reported $121.4 million in revenue from staking and validation activities — approximately 97% of its total revenue. As of November 8, the company held 6.07 million ETH, of which 5.22 million ETH was staked.

BitMine estimates those holdings could generate around $309 million in annual staking rewards, based on an assumed 2.65% yield and an ETH price of $2,234. For context, that reward assumption alone exceeds the annual operating budgets of most mid-sized public companies.

SharpLink, another ETH-focused treasury company, has accumulated 31,363 ETH in staking rewards as of November 9. Its strategy also includes liquid staking through Lido, receiving wstETH in return for deposited ETH — an approach that preserves some liquidity while earning staking yield.

Why is the validator count falling?

Active validators have moved in the opposite direction to the staked supply. They held near 900,000 through mid-September and peaked around 912,000, then dropped sharply from mid-September to mid-October to about 815,000. Since then, the count has drifted down to roughly 807,000, with a small additional decline in the past day or two.

The divergence suggests larger average validator balances rather than fewer participants: consolidation among institutional operators and treasury companies can absorb stake without adding validator count.

What does this change for holders?

The practical consequence is a shrinking tradeable float. If more than a third of supply is locked, and corporate treasuries continue compounding their stakes through autostaked rewards, sell-side liquidity thins even in a weak price environment. Meanwhile, Vitalik Buterin's recent push to position ETH as a store of value signals an ideological anchor for long-term holders.

With the entry queue still holding nearly 912,000 ETH and churn capped at 256 validators per epoch, the staking ratio's upward drift looks set to continue through the current market correction.