Ethereum staking has reached an all-time high of 30% of total supply, with 36.2 million ETH worth approximately $115 billion now locked in validators as institutional demand surges and the entry queue swells to 2.7 million tokens waiting to be staked.
What Happened: Staking Ratio Hits Record
Token Terminal reported Monday that Ethereum's staking ratio surpassed 30% for the first time. The validator entry queue has reached its highest level since 2023, while the exit queue has dropped to near zero, according to Validator Queue data.
Much of the queued Ether comes from institutions, including digital asset treasuries like BitMine and exchange-traded funds now offering staking rewards.
"ETH supply is getting intentionally harder to access," Milk Road commented on Monday. "Staking just hit an all-time high, with millions of ETH now queued to be locked," the macroeconomics outlet said, adding that tokens are "being taken off exchanges and removed from active circulation."
The official Ethereum account stated Monday that "Ethereum is the #1 choice for global financial institutions," citing a list of 35 institutional adoption stories shared by Fundstrat's Tom Lee.
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Why It Matters: Confidence With Caveats
Nic Puckrin, CEO and co-founder of Coin Bureau, called the milestone a "huge vote of confidence in Ethereum" but cautioned that staking measures coins, not conviction.
One whale staking a million ETH looks identical to a million believers staking one each, but represents very different market dynamics, he said.
"So when you see '30% of ETH staked,' the real question isn't whether that is bullish," Puckrin added. "It's who staked it, how liquid is it really, and how fast can it change its mind?"
Ether spot markets have cooled since the weekend, with the asset dropping another 1% Tuesday morning in Asia to fall below $3,200. Prices have declined 5% since Saturday as markets remain rattled by the latest escalation of Donald Trump's global trade war.
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