Ethereum staking is attracting new deposits even though its roughly 2.2% annual yield is only slightly above the return available on some euro household deposits and below the €STR wholesale benchmark. About 1.38 million ETH was waiting to enter staking on Oct. 23, with an estimated activation delay of 24 days and nine hours, according to CryptoSlate.
The queue shows that many participants are not comparing staking with cash as a standalone income product. They already want to own ETH, and staking offers a way to earn additional tokens while maintaining that exposure. The trade-off is that changes in ETH’s price can overwhelm years of rewards.
Staking demand remains substantial despite lower yields
Around 44.1 million ETH, representing more than 36% of the total supply, was already staked to help validate transactions and maintain Ethereum’s network. The entry queue has declined from 2.06 million ETH in August, but new direct validators still face a wait before they begin earning native rewards.
Staking involves committing ETH to Ethereum’s validation process. Participants can operate the required software themselves or use a liquid-staking service such as Lido. Lido pools users’ ETH and issues stETH, a transferable token representing a claim on pooled assets and rewards.
The quoted Lido rate of about 2.2% is a return in ETH rather than euros. A €10,000 position would generate approximately €220 over one year if the ETH price remained unchanged. That is only about €7 more than the average rate on newly agreed euro household deposits with maturities of up to one year, which stood at 2.13% in the ECB’s August data.
Other euro benchmarks make the comparison less favorable. The €STR wholesale overnight rate was 2.442% on Oct. 22, while the ECB deposit facility rate was 2.5%. The latter applies to eligible banks placing funds with the Eurosystem, rather than ordinary savers.
The difference between staking and €STR would amount to roughly €24.20 on €10,000 over a year, assuming constant rates and excluding taxes, costs and compounding. A 5% decline in ETH’s euro price, however, would leave the staked position worth about €9,709 after the additional tokens were included. A 5% gain would produce about €10,731, compared with €10,500 for holding the same initial ETH without staking.
BitMine illustrates the long-term ownership case
Large existing holders may view staking differently from investors seeking a competitive cash yield. BitMine reported 5,067,309 ETH staked as of Oct. 18, valued at about $12 billion using an ETH price of $2,365. The company held approximately 6.04 million ETH in total, meaning it was putting a substantial existing position to work rather than replacing a cash investment with ETH.
BitMine reported a seven-day annualized staking yield of 2.58% and estimated annualized revenue of about $309 million on the staked amount. It has also stated a goal of owning 5% of Ethereum’s supply. Rewards can help increase its holdings without requiring equivalent additional purchases, although the dollar value of those rewards remains dependent on ETH’s price.
Fabian Dori, chief investment officer at Sygnum, told CryptoSlate that the marginal staker is no longer necessarily participating primarily for the return. The explanation is that holders who have already chosen long-term Ethereum exposure may prefer to earn rewards on those tokens, even when the yield is less attractive than conventional cash rates.
Ethereum’s reward percentage tends to decline as more ETH is staked, because total rewards grow more slowly than the amount of ETH sharing them. Transaction fees and maximal extractable value, or MEV, can also affect income. The service used, validator performance and operating costs further influence what participants receive.
Price moves and access risks can outweigh income
Recent performance illustrates why the yield cannot be assessed separately from the asset. ETH fell 9.08% in euros during the 30 days ending Oct. 22, while wrapped stETH declined 8.93%. Over 90 days, both gained roughly one-third, with the staking token ending slightly higher.
Wrapped stETH keeps the number of tokens in a wallet fixed while each token represents an accumulating amount of stETH. Its market price can nevertheless trade above or below the value of the underlying claim, adding another source of variation for investors who sell.
Direct validators also earn no native rewards while waiting to activate. At a 2.46% network rate, a 32 ETH position facing the 24-day, nine-hour queue would miss roughly 0.053 ETH in hypothetical rewards compared with immediate activation, assuming the rate stayed constant. Liquid-staking pools handle this differently: new stETH holders can receive a share of rewards from validators already operating, although additional deposits spread existing earnings across more capital until they become productive.
Exiting is separate from entering. Ethereum has an exit queue, while liquid-staking users may either request redemption through the protocol or sell their token to another market participant. Lido warns that withdrawals can face delays, and market sales may involve discounts, wider spreads or weaker execution when liquidity is limited. Validator outages, slashing penalties and dependence on service operators or smart contracts add further risks.
Dori said operational quality, including custody, slashing controls and access to exits, is the key differentiator at current yield levels. The source also noted that BlackRock’s non-staking Ethereum ETF continued to have substantially more assets and trading volume than its newer staking product in September, indicating that additional income is not the only factor driving demand.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar data at 08:19 on Oct. 24, 2026, showed Ethereum at $2,370.7929483195, down 1.49% over 24 hours and 2.52% over seven days. Shiba Inu was priced at $0.0000049221, down 2.54% in 24 hours and 3.06% over seven days. Uniswap stood at $6.8490156376, down 5.22% and 6.14% over the same periods, while Pepe traded at $0.0000044067, down 5.99% over 24 hours but up 10.32% over seven days.
The figures underline the central issue for ETH stakers: rewards increase the number of tokens held, but the value of the investment remains closely tied to the market price of Ethereum. For investors who already intend to own ETH, that may make staking worthwhile despite modest income. For someone starting with euros and seeking a cash-like return, the price exposure, waiting periods and exit conditions make the comparison more complicated.
