Quick answer: Ethereum staking reached a record 44.12 million ETH, or 36.1% of supply, on Oct. 24, 2026, per validatorqueue.com. The exit queue fell from 282,736 ETH on Oct. 17 to just 246 ETH on Oct. 25, while 1.3 million ETH still waits to enter. ETH traded near $2,321, down about 22% this year.
Ethereum staking has never been bigger. On Oct. 24, 2026, a record 44.12 million ETH was locked with validators, and the line of stakers waiting to leave has almost disappeared.
At 10:49 UTC on Oct. 25, CoinGecko priced ETH at $2,321, down 2% over 24 hours. At that price, the staked coins are worth about $102 billion.
What happened with Ethereum staking?
Daily figures from validatorqueue.com, which uses data from pectrified.com, show 44,121,281 ETH staked on Oct. 24. That is 36.12% of supply and the highest reading in its history. By late morning on Oct. 25, the live page still showed 44.1 million ETH, or 36.11%.
Other trackers also agree on the trend. Bitwise’s quarterly staking report, covered by The Block and Crypto Briefing, counted 43.8 million ETH at the end of September. It also logged 1.99 million ETH of net inflows in the third quarter, the sixth positive quarter in a row. CryptoKeyhole, which reads its own nodes, put the active share at 35.9% early on Oct. 25.
The bigger change, though, is in the queues. On Oct. 17, 282,736 ETH was waiting to exit. By Oct. 24 that had fallen to 3,305 ETH. Then, on Oct. 25, it stood at just 246 ETH. For comparison, a year earlier the exit queue held about 2.43 million ETH. Meanwhile, 1,302,487 ETH sat in the entry queue, with a wait of about 23 days.
Why it matters for ETH
First, the exit line is where selling pressure usually starts. A validator has to leave the queue before its ETH can be withdrawn and sold. So an empty exit queue means stakers are not rushing for the door, even after a weak month.
Second, the entry queue is still more than 5,000 times longer than the exit queue. In simple terms, far more ETH wants in than out. Moreover, that ETH has to sit idle for about three weeks before it earns anything, which shows these buyers are patient.
Third, this is happening against a falling price. ETH started 2026 near $2,970, according to CoinGecko’s daily data, and is now about 22% lower. Yet staked ETH grew by about 8.2 million coins over the same period, from 35.9 million on Jan. 1. In other words, holders are locking coins up rather than selling them.
However, a record stake is not the same as a price floor. Much staked ETH is held through liquid staking tokens, which can still be sold on the market. In addition, about 78 million ETH remains unstaked and free to trade.
The data behind the Ethereum staking record
The yield story is weaker. Bitwise said the average yield fell to 2.63% in the third quarter, from 2.81% in the second. The live APR on validatorqueue.com is now 2.46%. This is mainly because rewards are shared across a bigger pool. Bitwise also found that new ETH issuance made up more than 96% of the yield, so stakers are mostly paid in fresh supply, not fees.
So who is buying? Institutions play a large part. Bitwise noted that Bitmine raised its staked ETH from 410,000 in December to 5.07 million by Sept. 27. For background, see our report on Bitmine’s push toward 5% of all ETH.
Meanwhile, the number of active validators fell to 817,345, from about 959,000 a year ago. However, that drop does not mean stakers are leaving. Instead, since the Pectra upgrade, large operators can merge many 32-ETH validators into fewer, bigger ones. A separate consolidation queue holds 455,676 ETH right now.
There is also a gap between staking and spot demand. U.S. ether funds saw heavy outflows this month, as we covered in ether ETF outflows topping $1 billion. As a result, staking shows that long-term holders are steady, while fund flows show short-term money is cautious.
What to watch next
- The entry queue: It has shrunk from more than 4 million ETH in early February. A steady drop below 1 million ETH would suggest fresh demand is fading.
- A return of exits: A jump in the exit queue toward 500,000 ETH or more would be the first sign that stakers want out.
- Yield vs. cash: Blockport noted that the yield has slipped below some short-term cash rates. If that gap widens, new deposits may slow.
- Upgrades: Ethereum’s next major upgrade has slipped, as covered in our piece on the Glamsterdam delay. Fee changes could shift how much stakers earn from tips.
- Big holders: Large traders remain active on both sides. Read how Arthur Hayes sold ETH earlier this month.
FAQ
How much ETH is staked right now?
About 44.1 million ETH was staked on Oct. 25, 2026, or roughly 36.1% of supply, according to validatorqueue.com. The Oct. 24 daily reading of 44.12 million ETH is the highest on record.
What does an empty Ethereum exit queue mean?
It means almost no validators are waiting to unstake. On Oct. 25 the exit queue held only 246 ETH, down from 282,736 ETH on Oct. 17, so little staked ETH is heading toward withdrawal and possible sale.
What is the Ethereum staking yield today?
The live staking APR is about 2.46%, per validatorqueue.com. Bitwise reported an average of 2.63% in the third quarter of 2026, down from 2.81% in the second.
Not financial advice. Do your own research before investing.
Sources
- validatorqueue.com: Ethereum validator queue and staking data
- The Block: Ethereum staking hits record as yields fall, Bitwise
- Crypto Briefing: Ethereum staking hits record 43.8 million ETH
- CryptoKeyhole: Live share of ETH staked
- Blockport: Ethereum staking yield trails cash rates
- CoinGecko: Ethereum price
