Ethereum Staking Hits 43.8 Million ETH as Institutional Appetite Grows
In spite of falling staking yields, Ethereum staking hit a new record high of 43.8 million, continuing a six-quarter upward trend. Staked Ethereum amounted to 35.9% of the total supply, according to Bitwise’s Q4 2026 Staking Report. Sustained rise in participation was highlighted by the network’s allegedly 1.99 million ETH net staking inflows during the quarter. The correlation between increasing participation and decreased profits is demonstrated by the fact that Ethereum’s staking yield fell from 2.81% to 2.63%. A prime example of the growing interest in institutional staking activity is Bitmine’s most recent stake of 159,728 ETH, which is roughly worth $390.6 million. Lookonchain reported on X that Bitmine’s total staked holdings have grown to 5.23 million ETH, or approximately $12.78 billion, according to the most recent transaction.
Staking assets accounted for about 86.5 percent of the company’s total Ethereum holdings, showing a strong commitment to the cryptocurrency. This last distribution strengthened Bitmine’s plan to generate staking rewards while maintaining a large exposure to ETH. Intriguingly, with yields continuing to fall, this substantial participation added institutional context to Ethereum’s record staking figures. The top traders on Binance stuck with their long-term strategy despite the recent price decline, according to data from the derivatives market. Among the top traders, 67.91% had long accounts and 32.09% had short positions. As a result, the Long/Short Ratio reached 2.12, showing that more than twice as many people were bullish as bearish.
Moreover, on October 21st, the Spot market for Ethereum saw negative netflows of $2.34 million, suggesting that exchange withdrawals exceeded deposits. This could result in a reduction in the amount of ETH available for instant sale. In contrast to multiple bigger withdrawals recorded in September and most of October, the most recent outflow was comparatively small. Keeping inside its previous consolidation range, Ethereum’s market value closed at around $2,446 after retracing from the $2,800 resistance. ETH has been moving in a tight range, with the bulls firmly protecting the $2,400 support and the $2,535 resistance. After its most recent correction, ETH tried to recover slightly, but it was difficult to maintain a price over $2,500.
Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index rose to 42.80, beating its signal average of 39.87. A decrease in bearish pressure was indicated by the recent increase of the RSI, even though it remains below the 50-threshold. On the other hand, a bearish structure was confirmed when the Parabolic SAR indicator remained above the current price of $2,547.94. With the bearish SAR still indicating caution, a revisit of the $2,535 barrier level would need a long-term price recovery in Ethereum. Sellers had previously limited further increases at this level.
