Record staking, shrinking yields: most of the rewards are just new tokens

Staking on Ethereum and Solana hit all-time highs in the third quarter — and on both networks, the reward for locking up coins got smaller, according to Bitwise's latest quarterly staking report, as summarized by The Block on October 20.

By the end of September, 43.8 million ETH — close to 36% of total supply — was staked, Bitwise said. Annualized Ethereum staking yields averaged 2.63%, down from 2.81% the prior quarter. The report's own explanation: "As more ETH is staked, rewards are distributed across a larger pool, reducing the yield earned on each ETH." Net inflows were just under 2 million ETH, a sixth straight positive quarter, bringing 2026's first-nine-months total to 7.96 million ETH.

Solana set its own record, with 440.5 million SOL staked — 69% of supply. Gross staking yields there fell roughly 6%. The network processed 14.2 billion transactions, up 45% quarter-on-quarter, and transaction fees jumped 49% to $76 million, which Bitwise attributed mostly to memecoin trading. Tokenized-equities volume rose 45% to more than $6.9 billion.

Key facts

• ETH staked: 43.8M, ~36% of supply, at end-September; yield 2.63% vs 2.81% prior quarter (Bitwise, via The Block)
• ETH inflows: ~2M in Q3, sixth consecutive positive quarter; 7.96M year-to-date (Bitwise)
• Bitmine: staking rose from 410,000 ETH in December to 5.07M ETH by Sept. 27 — over 1,000% (Bitwise)
• Yield sources: newly issued ETH >96% of Ethereum yield; new tokens 90% on Solana (Bitwise)
• ETH network revenue: ~$40.6M, down from $63M in Q2 (Bitwise); The Block's summary separately cites ETH fees "to roughly $41 million"
• Solana: 440.5M SOL staked (69% of supply); 14.2B transactions (+45%); fees +49% to $76M (Bitwise)

The real-world read

The "record" framing is Bitwise's, and worth noting: Bitwise is an asset manager that sells staking products, so its quarterly staking report is interested-party research, not neutral analysis. The number the headline figures bury is the funding mix — more than 96% of Ethereum's staking yield and 90% of Solana's came from newly issued tokens, not transaction fees or MEV. That is dilution dressed as yield: holders who don't stake are paying, through inflation, the holders who do. Ethereum network revenue actually fell, to about $40.6 million from $63 million a quarter earlier.

Concentration is the other unsaid part. Bitmine, Tom Lee's Ethereum treasury company, alone accounts for 5.07 million of the 43.8 million staked ETH — more than 11% of the total — after a tenfold jump in nine months. A record built partly on one buyer's balance sheet is a thinner record than the top-line suggests.

Note too the internal mismatch in the figures: Bitwise puts Q3 Ethereum network revenue near $40.6 million, while The Block's summary separately refers to Ethereum fees "to roughly $41 million." Close, but reported as if distinct.

Opinion, and whose

The only forward-looking claim here is Bitwise's implicit one — that rising staking participation is a healthy signal. Bitwise's researchers frame falling yields as a mechanical result of a growing staked pool, not a problem. No independent party is quoted pushing back.

Sources

• The Block (Tier 2, secondary), Oct. 20, 2026 — reported the figures and quoted Bitwise's researchers.
• Bitwise Q3 staking report (primary data, but an interested party — Bitwise sells staking products; treat the "record" framing as its own).

This is news, not financial advice.