Ethereum staking hits record highs – So why are yields falling?

Ethereum [ETH] staking hit an all-time high of 43.8 million, extending its growth streak to six consecutive quarters even as staking yields declined.

Bitwise’s Q4 2026 Staking Report highlighted that staked ETH represented 35.9% of the total supply of Ethereum.

The network reportedly recorded net staking inflows of 1.99 million ETH during the quarter, highlighting continued growth in participation. Ethereum’s staking yield, however, fell from 2.81% to 2.63%, reflecting how the increase in participation aligned with lower returns.

Bitmine expands staking with a $390.6 million allocation

Institutional staking activity gained further attention as Bitmine staked another 159,728 ETH, valued at roughly $390.6 million. As per the Lookonchain’s post on X, the recent transaction pushed Bitmine’s total staked holdings to 5.23 million ETH, worth approximately $12.78 billion.

In fact, the staked assets accounted for roughly 86.5% of the company’s total ETH holdings, reflecting its significant commitment to Ethereum.

The recent allocation strengthened Bitmine’s strategy of generating staking rewards while at the same time maintaining significant exposure to ETH.

Interestingly, this significant participation further provided institutional context to Ethereum’s record staking figures, especially as yields continued depreciating.

Binance traders favor longs as ETH exits exchanges

The derivatives market insights highlighted that Binance’s top traders maintained a strong bias for long positions despite recent price weakness.

In particular, long accounts represented 67.91% of top trader accounts, with 32.09% in favor of short positions. As a result, the Long/Short Ratio reached 2.12, implying that bullish positions outnumbered bearish positions by more than twofold.

Besides, Ethereum’s Spot market registered negative netflows of $2.34 million on the 21st of October, implying that the exchange withdrawals exceeded deposits, potentially reducing ETH available for immediate selling.

The recent outflow, however, remained relatively modest as compared with several larger withdrawals recorded during September and better part of October.

Ethereum defends $2,400 as RSI improves

After retreating from the $2,800 resistance, Ethereum market value sat around $2,446, inside its previous consolidation range.

The daily timeframe chart highlighted ETH fluctuating between the $2,400 support and the $2,535 resistance, with the bulls defending the lower boundary repeatedly.

Following its recent correction, ETH attempted a modest rebound but struggled to establish a sustained move above the $2,500 area.

The RSI indicator, meanwhile, recovered to 42.80, above its signal average, which stood at 39.87. Even though the RSI remained below the 50-threshold, its latest improvement suggested easing bearish pressure.

On the other hand, the Parabolic SAR indicator remained above the prevailing price at $2,547.94, validating bearish structure.

Ethereum would need sustained price rebound to allow for it to retest the $2,535 resistance, where sellers previously restricted further advances, as the bearish SAR still favored caution.

Final Summary

• Ethereum staking reached 43.8 million ETH as Bitmine expanded its staked holdings.
• ETH defended $2,400 support, but bearish indicators continued limiting recovery prospects.