Record Ethereum staking contrasts with declining yield and fee revenue

• 43.8 million ETH was staked on Ethereum in Q3, a record. This represented 35.9% of total supply, although annualised yields declined to 2.63%.
• $40.64 million in fees and MEV was generated by ETH in Q3, while daily revenue averaged 198 ETH, down 40.2%.
• 199.32 million transactions were processed on Ethereum over the quarter

43.8 million ETH was staked on Ethereum (ETH) in Q3 2026, a record. Crypto asset manager Bitwise reported the milestone alongside a fall in annualised staking yields.

43.8 million ETH staked: Ethereum hits record as yields fall

By quarter-end, 35.9% of Ether’s total supply was staked, Bitwise said in its Q4 staking report released on Tuesday. A sixth consecutive quarter of growth brought net staking inflows to 1.99 million ETH.

Despite increased staking activity, the gross annualised staking yield on ETH fell to 2.63% in Q3. It had declined from 2.91% in Q1 to 2.81% in Q2.

A growing pool of staked ETH, together with reduced execution rewards from transaction fees and maximal extractable value (MEV), drove the decline, according to the report.

Bitwise explained: “As more ETH is staked, rewards are distributed across a larger pool, reducing the yield earned on each ETH,”

Of Q3’s total yield, 96.3% came from consensus rewards generated through protocol issuance, a contribution of 2.53 percentage points. Just 0.10 percentage points came from priority fees and MEV.

Q3 fees and MEV revenue on the blockchain totalled 18,210 ETH, equivalent to roughly $40.64 million. Daily revenue averaged 198 ETH, down 40.2% from 331 ETH in Q2 and the lowest reading since Q1 2025.

Quarterly transaction volume on Ethereum rose 35.3% YoY to 199.32 million. That remained slightly below the 203.85 million transactions recorded in Q2.

Across four common transaction types, average costs fell to $0.45 from $1.35, a 67% YoY decline. These comprised ETH transfers, ERC-20 transfers, decentralised exchange trades and non-fungible token trades.

Greater network capacity was partly responsible for the lower costs, Bitwise said. The expansion eased competition for blockspace, exerting downward pressure on transaction fees.

The report noted: “The additional activity has not yet translated into stronger value capture,”

Declining staking returns extended beyond Ethereum to other major proof-of-stake networks.

With 69% of its supply staked at the close of the third quarter, Solana saw its gross annualised yield fall from 6.38% to 5.99%.

A 46% staking ratio and a 4.87% yield were reported by NEAR. On Hyperliquid, 436 million HYPE was staked, earning a gross annualised yield of 2.24%.

Cost pressures also reduced Solana’s validator count, according to Bitwise. The total fell from 696 to 659 over the quarter, leaving the number of validators approximately 30% below its level a year earlier.

$6.93 billion in Solana tokenized equity volume as crypto markets expand

The report also pointed to increased activity in tokenised markets beyond staking.

A 45% rise took tokenised equity volume on Solana to $6.93 billion. Non-crypto markets represented 36.5% of perpetual futures trading volume on Hyperliquid.

Between July and September, average daily stock-token volume on Robinhood Chain increased 22-fold, marking significant growth. Fees generated in the network’s first quarter exceeded $50 million, surpassing those of its host Ethereum mainnet.

At the time of writing, the crypto market had gained 1.6% over the past 24 hours.