The amount of staked ETH has hit a new all-time high, suggesting growing long-term confidence in Ethereum.

As of this week, over 34.6 million Ether (ETH) – worth nearly $90 billion – is locked into Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS) system, according to data from BeaconChain. That represents nearly 28% of the entire ETH supply, which currently stands at around 120.72 million.

The new all-time high marks one of the most significant staking milestones since Ethereum’s transition from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to PoS following the 2022 Merge, which combined the original mainnet execution layer with the new consensus layer.

It also comes after the new Pectra update went live around a month ago – the upgrade is the most expansive fork since The Merge.

Amir Forouzani, co-founder of Puffer Labs, told The Defiant that Ethereum’s recent staking surge is being driven by two key forces: the rise of liquid staking and growing institutional participation.

“Yield-bearing derivatives such as liquid staking tokens (LSTs) and liquid restaking tokens (LRTs) let holders keep their ETH liquid while using it in leverage and looping strategies on lending protocols, amplifying returns,” Forouzani said.

He added that growing inflows from asset managers and potential exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers underscore rising confidence in ETH as a yield-generating, programmable asset. ETH staking yields depend on the issuer but can range from 2% to around 4%, according to Staking Rewards.

“At Puffer Institutional alone, several clients are preparing to restake substantial ETH positions, and we expect the total staked amount to climb further as institutional adoption accelerates,” he added.

Davis Richardson, Managing Partner at Paradox Public Relations, echoed that view, calling the new staking peak a sign of “extreme confidence in the Ethereum network’s durability.”

“Even with recent changes to the team’s senior leadership, and the rise of so-called ‘ETH killers’ like Solana, Ethereum retains the highest number of developers and users on-chain,” Richardson said.

He noted that Ethereum has maintained its first-mover advantage – and the market recognizes that. “In the short term, the TVL may decrease selling pressure, especially as BlackRock reallocates its portfolio for its iShares ETH product, and investors get hungry for yield – which Bitcoin currently cannot offer,” he added.

BlackRock – the world’s largest asset manager and issuer of the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) – made waves last week after dumping Bitcoin (BTC) and purchasing ETH.

According to data from Onchain Lens and Arkham, BlackRock deposited around 5,362.37 BTC (valued at around $561 million) and purchased more than $100 million of ETH by the week’s end. IBIT currently has $69 billion in net assets under management, while ETHA has $3.77 billion.

Ethereum is currently changing hands at $2,574, up 2% on the day and 4.5% over the past month, according to The Defiant’s price page.