Ethereum staking hits record, but yield and fee revenue fall

Ethereum (ETH) staking reached a record 43.8 million ETH in Q3 2026 amid a decline in annualized staking yields, according to crypto asset manager Bitwise.

Ethereum staking sets new record amid decline in yields

In its Q4 staking report on Tuesday, Bitwise stated that staked Ether accounted for 35.9% of the asset’s total supply by the end of the quarter. Net staking inflows reached 1.99 million ETH, marking the sixth straight quarter of growth.

While staking activity rose, ETH’s gross annualized staking yield declined from 2.91% in Q1 to 2.81% in Q2, but dropped further to 2.63% in Q3.

The report attributes the decline to a larger pool of staked ETH and lower execution rewards from transaction fees and maximal extractable value (MEV).

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

Consensus rewards, generated through protocol issuance, contributed 2.53 percentage points to Q3’s yield, accounting for 96.3% of the total. Priority fees and MEV contributed just 0.10 percentage points.

The blockchain also generated 18,210 ETH in fees and MEV revenue in Q3, worth roughly $40.64 million. Average daily revenue fell to 198 ETH from 331 ETH in Q2, a 40.2% decline and the lowest level since Q1 2025.

At the same time, Ethereum processed 199.32 million transactions during the quarter. Although the figure was slightly below Q2's 203.85 million, transaction volume increased 35.3% YoY.

Meanwhile, the average cost across four common transaction types, including ETH transfers, ERC-20 transfers, decentralized exchange trades and non-fungible token trades, dropped 67% YoY to $0.45 from $1.35.

Bitwise attributed the lower costs partly to increased network capacity, which reduced competition for blockspace and put downward pressure on transaction fees.

“The additional activity has not yet translated into stronger value capture,” the report stated.

Ethereum was not the only major proof-of-stake network to experience declining staking returns.

Solana ended the third quarter with 69% of its supply staked, while its gross annualized yield dropped to 5.99% from 6.38%.

NEAR recorded a staking ratio of 46% and a yield of 4.87%. Hyperliquid, meanwhile, had 436 million HYPE staked, generating a gross annualized yield of 2.24%.

Solana’s validator count also declined, falling from 696 to 659 during the quarter. Bitwise attributed the reduction to cost pressures, with the number of validators approximately 30% lower than a year earlier.

Tokenized equities expand across crypto networks

Beyond staking, the report highlighted growing activity in tokenized markets.

Tokenized equity volume on Solana reached $6.93 billion, increasing 45%. On Hyperliquid, non-crypto markets accounted for 36.5% of perpetual futures trading volume.

Robinhood Chain also recorded significant growth, with average daily stock-token volume rising 22-fold between July and September. The network generated more than $50 million in fees in its first quarter, higher than its host Ethereum mainnet.

The crypto market is up 1.6% over the past 24 hours at the time of writing.