Institutional Demand for ETH Staking Remains Strong Despite Lower Rewards

The Ethereum validator exit queue has dropped to zero, signaling renewed confidence among long-term holders. Last year, during the market crash, the exit queue peaked at 2.6 million ETH with a wait time of approximately 44 days. Now, the situation has flipped: it takes nearly 44 days to enter the validator queue, with more than 2.5 million ETH waiting to stake.

This waiting period reflects a clear bullish sentiment. Investors are willing to wait up to six weeks just to lock their ETH into staking and earn rewards, even as those rewards have declined over the past year.

Growing Institutional Commitment to ETH

Institutional interest in Ethereum staking continues to hold steady. Bitmine Immersion Technologies recently reported holdings worth $11.8 billion, which includes 5,787,414 ETH valued at $1,948 per coin. This amount represents about 4.8% of Ethereum’s total supply.

Out of that, Bitmine currently has 4,917,189 ETH staked, equivalent to roughly $9.6 billion. Their expected annual staking rewards total around $299 million, despite the rate dropping to 2.62% from 3.05% a year ago.

Crypto analyst Merlijn the Trader highlighted that nearly 34% of the entire Ethereum supply is locked in staking, a figure that confirms the long-term conviction of holders. Even with diminishing returns, demand for staking remains strong.

Price and Valuation Insights

Analyst Burak Kesmeci pointed out that Ethereum’s average cost basis stands at $2,305, while the current market price hovers around $1,938. This gap suggests that Ethereum is still trading below the average purchase price of holders, making it relatively cheap in the eyes of many investors.

Despite this, some metrics like MVRV and profitability indicate that it might be premature to declare a market bottom for Ethereum or Bitcoin.

The cleared validator exit queue combined with Bitmine’s recent purchase of nearly 10,000 ETH over the last week shows ongoing accumulation and strong sentiment among major players in the space.

This content is informational and not financial advice.