Staked ETH Reaches All-Time High Amidst Growing Institutional Interest
Santiment, a market intelligence platform, has revealed that ETH held in the official Proof of Stake contract wallet has jumped by 38.4% over the past 12 months. POS contract holdings now amount to 77.85 million ETH, valued at $256 billion, representing approximately 46.59% of ETH’s total supply held in a single wallet.
The amount of Ether locked in Ethereum’s Proof of Stake (POS) contract system has reached a new all-time high, driven by increasing institutional participation. The POS contract system holds Ethereum tokens that validators stake to secure the Ethereum blockchain.
This rise in staked ETH value reflects a growing interest in long-term staking from network users.
Understanding POS Contract Holdings
According to a Santiment report, there is a common misconception across the crypto ecosystem that POS contract holders are whale wallets. However, unlike whale wallets, the POS contract staking wallet does not allow for sudden withdrawals to exchanges. The staked ETH can only be withdrawn slowly through validator exits, which are rate-limited by the protocol.
📊 The official Ethereum Proof-of-Stake deposit contract (formerly the "Beacon Chain" wallet) now holds 77.85M $ETH worth just over $256B, rising by 38.4% coins held in the past year.
💸 Its purpose is to hold ETH that has been staked by validators to secure the Ethereum… pic.twitter.com/FNf43AmSOb
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) January 17, 2026
Another concern often raised by bears is that the wallet size poses a liquidity risk in the event of adversities. For instance, if the price of ETH were to drop sharply, prompting many validators to exit quickly, withdrawals could be slowed. Other concerns include the potential for a small number of institutions to influence the ETH price over time.
Key Staking Statistics and Market Performance
The total staked ETH has reached another all-time high, approximately 35.97 million ETH, according to validatorqueue data. This value represents about 30% of ETH’s total supply, with a staked market cap surpassing $118 billion.
The Ether price has experienced a slight decrease of roughly 3.53% year to date and 0.02% over the past 24 hours. At the time of publication, the token was trading at $3,297, showing a 15% increase over the past month.
The Ethereum validator network currently comprises approximately 976,495 active validators, with an additional 2.57 million ETH waiting in the entry queue. Concurrently, the validator exit queue has remained at a historic low of 32, indicating limited selling pressure from existing stakers.
Institutional Players Enter the Staking Market
Staked ETH enhances the security of the Ethereum blockchain by requiring validators to lock up ETH to propose and verify blocks. Lido Finance, a Liquid Staking Protocol, remains the largest single provider of staking operations, accounting for approximately 24% of all staked ETH, according to Dune Analytics.
The growth in total staked ETH has been significantly influenced by institutional players like Bitmine Immersion Technologies. This Ethereum-focused treasury firm recently announced plans to begin staking ETH for rewards through its MAVAN solution, intending to deposit $219 million into the POS contract wallet.
Arkham Intelligence tracked multiple wallets linked to Bitmine, observing transfers totaling 74,880 ETH. This pattern is associated with institutional staking setups that collect funds before validator creation.
Tom Lee confirmed in a post that Bitmine had commenced staking its held ETH to earn interest income. This move marks the firm’s first time staking through its own validator, MAVAN. With its current holdings of 4.07 million ETH and an approximate APY of 3.12%, Bitmine could potentially earn around 126,800 ETH annually, valued at $374 million at the current ETH price.
Furthermore, Ethereum’s total value locked (TVL) is projected to increase this year as more institutional participants enter the staking market. According to Joseph Chalom, co-CEO of Sharplink, stablecoins are expected to be the primary driver of growth this year, targeting approximately $500 billion by year's end, which represents a 62% increase from current levels.