Ethereum Staking Shatters 30% Milestone as Beacon Chain Hits Record Highs
Ethereum's proof-of-stake engine just crossed a threshold that changes everything. Over 30% of all ETH is now locked up and validating the network—a massive vote of confidence in the blockchain's post-merge future.
The Beacon Chain's Record Run
This isn't just a number—it's a fundamental shift in Ethereum's economic security. The Beacon Chain, the consensus layer that replaced energy-intensive mining, is now securing more value than many national economies. That locked ETH represents billions in staked capital, creating a fortress-like security model where attacking the network becomes financially suicidal.
What This Means for ETH Holders
Every percentage point increase in staking reduces liquid supply, creating natural upward pressure on prices. With validators earning yield on their staked ETH, we're witnessing the birth of a new crypto-native financial system—one that pays you to secure the network rather than charging you to use it. Traditional finance still can't decide if crypto is an asset class or a scam, while Ethereum quietly builds a trillion-dollar staking economy in its backyard.
The network's security budget now comes from yield rather than electricity bills—and investors are voting with their wallets. This milestone proves that when you give people a real financial stake in the system's success, they'll protect it like their retirement depends on it. Because it does.
Ethereum validators deposit another 2.3M ETH
In the past month, a big shift happened for the Ethereum staking queue. The wave of withdrawals ended as big wallets consolidated their stakes.
At the end of 2025, the entry queue once again passed the exit queue. Now, the entry queue is at the highest level since 2023. Over 2.34M ETH are waiting to enter the queue.
Staking is one of the most efficient ways to take ETH off the market, incomparable even to a treasury company buying. Currently, the validator exit queue is practically empty, showing almost no interest in unstaking ETH.
Staking rewards still earn 2.82%, usually distributed through some of the top validators. The return rate fluctuates slightly, but generally stays close to that range. For some staked treasuries, the returns may be significant.
Bitmine becomes a major source of staking deposits
Bitmine holds around 3.6% of the ETH supply, hoping to expand the holdings to 5%. In late 2025, Bitmine started its staking program.
In the past day, Bitmine staked another 186,650 ETH, valued at over $624.8M. Bitmine will stake its ETH through the MAVAN validator for additional security. As a result, the treasury firm expects up to $500M per year in passive rewards.
ETH is no longer deflationary and has increased its supply to 121,371,617 in total, adding 1.3M new tokens in the past year. Most of the added supply is offset by staking and accumulation in holding addresses. Over 25.8M ETH is held in accumulation addresses, leaving a significant part of ETH off the market.
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