Ethereum staking yield slips to 2.63% as staked ETH hits 43.8 million

Ethereum stakers earned an average annualized 2.63% in the third quarter, down from 2.81%, as staked ETH reached a record 43.8 million, according to Bitwise researchers. About 35.9% of total ETH supply was locked, and net inflows added 1.99 million ETH, a sixth consecutive positive quarter. Bitwise attributed the lower yield to rewards being spread across a larger pool; more than 96% came from newly minted ETH, with the rest from MEV and priority fees. Institutional staking drove inflows, including BitMine, an Ethereum treasury company chaired by Tom Lee, whose stake rose more than 1,000% from 410,000 ETH in December to 5.07 million ETH on September 27; Lee said at Token2049 in Singapore that BitMine would stop buying at 5% of ETH supply.