Over 30% of Ethereum Total Supply (36.3M ETH) Now Staked

The amount of staked Ethereum continues to climb despite the dip, reestablishing investor confidence beyond short-term volatility.

Notably, over 30% of the Ethereum total supply has now been staked, drastically depleting its supply in actual circulation. Reductions of this nature could precede a supply shock—a scenario in which available tokens can no longer meet the growing demand for an asset.

Key Points

• Over 30% of Ethereum’s total supply has now been staked, drastically depleting its circulating supply.
• The number of Ether staked now stands at 36.3 million ETH, a little over 30% of the cryptocurrency’s circulating and total supply of 120.69 million.
• The total value staked increased from 35.99 million ETH ($108 million) to 36.31 million ETH ($117 million), representing a 0.89% growth YTD.
• This matters for the Ethereum network because it signals a reduced circulating supply, greater security, and increased long-term investor confidence in the long term.

Ethereum Supply Depletes

Notably, CryptoQuant data shows that the amount of Ether staked now stands at 36.3 million ETH, a little over 30% of the cryptocurrency’s circulating and total supply of 120.69 million. This number has continued to climb even during periods of market turbulence, as users focus on the longer term, beyond the current uncertainty.

Remarkably, a considerable amount of staking activities has occurred this year. As of January 1, the total value staked was 35.99 million ETH, worth approximately $108 million. These numbers have grown to 36.31 million ETH worth $117 million, representing a 0.89% growth.

This increase becomes more evident on a longer timeframe. A year ago, around 34.19 million Ethereum was staked, and the current figure shows 6.2% year-over-year growth.

Why This Matters for Ethereum

Interestingly, this matters for the Ethereum network in several ways. First, it reduces the amount of the token’s supply available in the open market, removing immediate sell pressure.

Again, it boosts network security, as more staking activity increases the cost of attacking the Ethereum network. Additionally, it suggests long-term confidence among holders, as staking means they believe in the asset’s price trajectory in the future.

However, it comes with lower yields. As the total amount of Ether staked increases, the annual percentage yield (APY) automatically reduces to provide balance to the ecosystem.

Per the Ethereum Validator Queue, more are still in the pipeline. Over 2.6 million ETH are in the entry queue, pushing the wait time to 45 days and 12 hours. However, only 64 ETH are in the exit queue, as validators seem uninterested in unstaking their stash.

Ethereum Network Hits Record Transaction High

Meanwhile, the surge in staking activities is accompanied by several other bullish developments on the Ethereum network. The daily Ethereum transaction spiked to 2.88 million on January 16, marking a new all-time high for the network. Notably, this highlights an uptick in on-chain activities and renewed user traction on Ethereum.

Notably, a decline in Ethereum mainnet network fees accompanied this. Average fees dropped sharply to 0.054 gwei ($0.01), making transacting far cheaper than usual. This combination of high transactions and low fees marks a turnaround from past occurrences in previous cycles, thanks to recent upgrades.

At the time of writing, the Ethereum price remains weak amid unfavorable macroeconomic factors, failing to respond to these network activities. There is also no guarantee that that would happen, as volatility and uncertainty currently cloud the crypto market.