Ethereum’s Staking Record Has a Hidden Cost for Holders

Bitwise’s latest staking report showed Ethereum validators held a record 35.9% of all ETH in the third quarter, while Ethereum’s annualized staking yield fell to 2.63% from 2.81% in the second quarter. Bitwise attributed about half the decline to growth in staked ETH and much of the rest to lower network fees and maximal extractable value, or MEV. Ethereum’s validator count dropped to 881,000 from about 1.1 million as operators merged validators under EIP-7251, which raised the maximum balance per validator to 2,048 ETH while the ETH remained staked. Solana’s gross yield fell to 5.99% from 6.38%, mainly because its issuance schedule reduces new token creation; after dilution, Bitwise estimated staking gains at about 1.7% on Ethereum and 2.2% on Solana.