Ethereum Staking Address Now Holds More Than Half of ETH Supply for the First Time: Santiment

Demand for Ethereum staking has skyrocketed despite the asset price plunging back to bear market lows.

This seems somewhat misleading, as there are currently approximately 37 million ETH staked, which represents approximately 30% of the total supply of 121.4 million tokens. However, Santiment explained that there is often confusion about how the proof-of-stake address works. It described the address as a “one-way vault that temporarily locks ETH to help secure the network.”

“When someone stakes ETH, it is entered into this contract and taken out of normal circulation, meaning it cannot be spent or traded while staked.”

Different methods of counting supply

When validators leave and withdraw, the Ether is put back into circulation as newly issued coins on Ethereum’s main network, “rather than being taken back out of the vault itself,” Santiment explains.

“As a result, existing supply can often differ based on whether only pre-burned or total post-burned coins are counted.”

So over time, the “vault” accumulates ETH without easily flowing back in the same way it went in, making the contract’s share of the current supply appear larger. This results in a calculation of 50.18% based on ETH spent in the past before burns. Santiment predicted that this figure will rise, especially during bear markets and poor trading conditions.

“As staking continues to grow in popularity, expect this address to continue its rise, especially when trading slows during bear cycles.”

🤑 BREAKING: Ethereum’s proof-of-stake contract address now holds more than half of Ethereum’s supply for the first time in the coin’s 11-year history.

🔐 There is often confusion about how this proof-of-stake address works. Think of it as a one-way safe that locks temporarily $ETH… pic.twitter.com/agj2YG37nu

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) February 17, 2026

Regardless of which figure is used, demand for staking has skyrocketed and the percentage of staked ETH supply is at record highs.

Additionally, the validator access queue is also around record highs, at approximately 3.9 million ETH to wait be deported, and the waiting period is 67 days.

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Meanwhile, the exit queue has dropped to its lowest level ever, with around 11,500 ETH and less than a five-hour wait.

Ether price at bear market low

Panic selling by retailers has pushed Ether prices to lows below $2,000. ETH briefly reached this psychological level during late Tuesday trading, but was once again beaten back by resistance, falling to $1,970 during the Wednesday morning session in Asia.

“Ethereum is not expensive right now, it’s boring,” said analyst Merlijn The Trader before adding: “It’s boring where positions are built.”