ETH Staking on Beacon Chain Hits New Highs

More than 31.5 million ETH, valued at $115 billion, is currently staked on the Ethereum Beacon Chain, equivalent to nearly 26% of the network's total supply.

ETH staking on Beacon Chain continues to set new highs

Data from Dune Analytics reveals that over 31.5 million Ether is staked on the Ethereum Beacon Chain, the network's Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus layer, with a total value exceeding $115 billion.

With Ethereum's market capitalization of $440 billion, this staked Ether represents more than 26% of the total circulating ETH, involving over 980,000 validators participating in staking.

Aside from that, data analytics from The Block indicate that the number of validators and the amount of ETH staked have consistently reached new "peaks" over time. Notably, the rate has accelerated further since the Shanghai upgrade went live in April 2023.

The Shanghai hard fork (also known as Shapella) marked a pivotal milestone that brought significant changes to the Ethereum network, especially post-The Merge—Ethereum's historic upgrade shifting from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS).

Thanks to Shanghai, users and validators have been able to withdraw their staked ETH for Ethereum 2.0 since December 2020, almost three years in "captivity." Consequently, post-Shanghai, the Ethereum network has seen over 12.9 million ETH locked in staking, a staggering increase of more than 70% in nearly a year.

Moreover, Liquid Staking solutions like Lido and Rocket Pool have facilitated staking by allowing users to stake any amount below 32 ETH and use staked assets as collateral in DeFi, contributing significantly to the surge in ETH staking.

The Total Value Locked (TVL) in liquid staking protocols on Ethereum has consistently surged in recent months, buoyed by the impending Dencun upgrade. Currently, Lido has reached a TVL peak of $36.74 billion, increasing by over $15 billion in just one month.

However, the increase in ETH staking has also led to diminished staking rewards for validators. Staking rewards have decreased from a peak of 8.6% post-Shanghai to below 4% today.

ETH staking has seen substantial growth, highlighting Ethereum's evolving ecosystem and the increasing role of Proof of Stake in securing the network's operations.