ETH staking hits 50% on paper, but active stake only ~31%

ETH’s reported 50.18% staking share is disputed, with CoinShares putting active staking near 30.8% due to deposit‑only contract data.

Summary

• Santiment says 50.18% of ETH supply (about 80m ETH) sits in the staking deposit contract, crossing a symbolic 50% threshold for the first time.
• CoinShares’ Luke Nolan calls the figure “inaccurate or materially misleading,” noting the contract logs deposits only and ignores withdrawals.
• Active staking is closer to 37m ETH, or roughly 30.8% of circulating supply, using Ethplorer and CryptoQuant validator data.

A dispute has emerged between blockchain analytics firms over the accuracy of Ethereum staking data, with analysts disagreeing on whether staking volume has exceeded 50% of the cryptocurrency’s total supply.

On-chain analytics company Santiment announced that Ethereum (ETH) staking volume had surpassed 50% of the total supply for the first time, according to a recent analysis. The firm reported that 50.18% of the total Ethereum supply was recorded in the staking deposit contract.

CoinShares analysts challenged Santiment’s findings, calling the figure misleading, according to CoinDesk. The analysts stated that the reported percentage does not accurately reflect the amount of active staking on the network.

Luke Nolan, a senior research fellow at CoinShares, said the data is inaccurate or significantly misleading. He explained that the Ethereum staking deposit contract only accumulates deposit records and does not process withdrawal data.

The approximately 80 million Ether reported by Santiment represents accumulated deposit records rather than the actual balance, according to Nolan. The figure does not account for withdrawals from the staking contract, he said.

CoinShares estimates the active staking volume that contributes to network security stands at approximately 37 million Ether, or 30.8% of the supply, according to the firm’s analysis.

Other analysts have also claimed the staking rate is around 30%, not 50%, according to reports.