Institutional participation pushes Ethereum’s POS contract to new all-time high
January 17, 2026
Santiment, a market intelligence platform, has revealed today that ETH held in the official Proof of Stake contract wallet jumped by 38.4% over the past 12 months. POS contract holdings are now 77.85 million ETH worth $256 billion, representing approximately 46.59% of ETH’s total supply held in a single wallet.
The amount of Ether locked in Ethereum’s Proof of Stake (POS) contract system has jumped to a new all-time high amid the growing institutional participation. The POS contract system holds Ethereum tokens that validators stake to secure the Ethereum blockchain.
The rise in staked ETH value reflects increased interest in long-term staking from network users.
ETH total staked ETH hits a new ATH of ~ 36 million
According to the Santiment report, there is a common misconception across the crypto ecosystem that POS contract holders are whale wallets. However, contrary to whale wallet behaviour, the POS contract staking wallet can’t allow sudden withdrawals to exchanges. The staked ETH can only be withdrawn slowly through validator exits, which are rate-limited by the protocol.
Another misconception often raised by bears is that, in the event of adversities, the wallet size poses a liquidity risk. For instance, if the price of ETH were to drop sharply, prompting many validators to exit quickly, withdrawals could slow. Other concerns raised include the risk that the ETH price will be influenced by a small number of institutions over time.
Meanwhile, the total staked ETH has hit another all-time high, reaching approximately 35.97 million ETH, according to validatorqueue data. The value represents approximately 30% of ETH’s total supply and a staked market cap surpassing $118 billion.
The Ether price has lost roughly 3.53% year to date and 0.02% over the past 24 hours. The token was trading at $3,297 at the time of publication, up 15% over the past month.
The Ethereum validator network now includes approximately 976,495 active validators plus an additional 2.57 million ETH waiting in the entry queue. At the same time, the validator exit queue has remained at a historic low of 32, reflecting a limited selling pressure from existing stakers.
Bitmine plans to begin staking ETH via its own validator network
Staked ETH enhances the security of the Ethereum blockchain by requiring validators to lock up ETH to propose and verify blocks. So far, the Liquid Staking Protocol, Lido Finance, remains the largest single provider of staking operations, accounting for approximately 24% of all staked ETH, according to Dune Analytics.
The growth in total staked ETH has largely been driven by institutional players such as Bitmine Immersion Technologies. The Ethereum-focused treasury firm recently showed plans to start staking ETH for rewards through its MAVAN solution by depositing $219 million into the POS contract wallet.
Arkham Intelligence tracked multiple wallets linked to Bitmine, showing transfers totaling 74,880 ETH, a pattern associated with institutional staking setups that collect funds before validator creation.
Tom Lee confirmed in a post that Bitmine had finally begun staking its held ETH to earn interest income. The step would mark the firm’s first time staking through its own validator, MAVAN, especially with its current 4.07 million ETH with an approximate APY of 3.12%. This means that Bitmine could earn approximately 126,800 ETH, valued at $374 million, annually at the current ETH price.
Additionally, Ethereum’s total value locked (TVL) could increase this year as institutional participants enter the staking market. According to Sharplink’s co-CEO Joseph Chalom, stablecoins may be the biggest driver of growth this year, targeting approximately $500 billion by year’s end, representing approximately 62% growth from current levels.
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