Crypto: ETH staking reaches unprecedented levels

A silent revolution is taking place on Ethereum. The network reached a major milestone with 36.6 million ETH staked, representing 30% of the total supply. Giants like Bitmine and BlackRock are accumulating and locking in their positions, radically transforming the structure of the crypto market.

The explosion of institutional staking is reshaping the Ethereum landscape

Ethereum has just reached a decisive milestone. According to on-chain data from Validator Queue published at the end of January, 36.6 million ETH are now staked, marking the first time that the threshold of 30% of the total supply has been exceeded.

This spectacular progress has been accelerating for several months, driven by an unprecedented wave of institutional adoption.

Bitmine perfectly illustrates this trend. Tom Lee's company recently added 250,912 ETH to its staked positions, worth $745 million. His total now stands at 2.58 million ETH locked up, or approximately 61% of his total Ethereum holdings. These numbers demonstrate massive confidence in the network's long-term prospects.

The timing of this explosion is not trivial. It coincides with the deployment of Lido V3 on the Ethereum mainnet. This new release introduces stVaults, isolated staking environments allowing teams to run custom validator configurations. Institutions can thus adapt their staking strategy while benefiting from Lido's liquidity and DeFi integrations.

ETFs also play a major role in this dynamic. BlackRock recently registered its “iShares Staked Ethereum Trust” in Delaware, the first regulatory step before official filing with the SEC.

With an average annual return of 3.95%, these products combine exposure to the ETH price and generation of passive income. Grayscale and REX-Osprey have already obtained permission to integrate staking into their Ethereum ETFs, paving the way for other players.

Between reinforced security and questions about liquidity

This rise in staking undeniably consolidates the security of the Ethereum network. The more ETH staked, the higher the cost of a potential attack.

Queuing mechanisms regulate the entry and exit of validators, incrementally adding every 6.4 minutes. This controlled approach avoids brutal shocks likely to destabilize the consensus.

Vitalik Buterin recently recalled the importance of these withdrawal deadlines. They act as a protection against mass withdrawals that could weaken security. The exit queue processes requests block by block, transforming what might seem like a “rush to the exit” into a controlled flow. Approximately 2.45 million ETH was actually waiting in the exit queue at the start of November 2025, with 1.5 million ETH waiting to enter.

However, this growing immobilization raises legitimate questions. With almost a third of the total supply locked, the liquidity available on the markets is mechanically reduced.

Investors who favor native staking agree to give up the flexibility of liquid staking tokens like stETH. They maintain full control of their keys but are exposed to prolonged withdrawal times and the risk of slashing in the event of bad behavior from their validator.

However, the institutions seem convinced. They consider Ethereum to be the ideal infrastructure for tokenized finance. The majority of stablecoins, tokenized assets and institutional grade smart contracts operate on this blockchain.

In short, crossing the threshold of 30% of ETH staked marks a radical transformation of the Ethereum network. Between increased security, passive returns and massive institutional commitment, this movement is redefining market balances. It remains to be seen whether this confidence will translate into the anticipated rise in prices, or whether liquidity constraints will end up weighing on the most exposed players.