DeFi
February 18, 2026
Ethereum has been making headlines for breaking a record that once seemed distant. More than half of the network’s supply is now locked. Latest data from Santiment reveals a major Ethereum staking milestone. More than 50% of all ETH is now locked in staking and long-term holding structures. The shift reflects a steady tightening of liquid supply across the Ethereum network. Coins that had been moving freely are now tied up, keeping the Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system more secure.
But this change did not take place overnight. Staking participation has been climbing for years. According to recent data, about 36.9 million ETH is currently staked. This represents 30.4% of the circulating supply, spread across nearly 967,000 validators. This figure alone has reached record highs in recent months.
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Ethereum Staking Milestone and ETH Locked Growth Explained Using Santiment Data
The scale of total ETH locked continues to rise. An additional 3.92 million ETH is waiting in the validator entry queue. It should be noted that staking wait times stretch to nearly 68 days. That backlog shows strong demand to join the network as validators.
Ethereum staking growth has reshaped supply dynamics. When ETH enters staking contracts, it becomes unavailable for immediate trading. This further reduces the selling pressure and even changes how liquidity flows through the market.
Liquid staking has also expanded its horizons. Through this, users are allowed to stake ETH while retaining liquidity through tokenized representations. The total value locked in liquid staking increased more than its peak of $85 billion. But it soon dipped to $40 billion due to the overall conditions of the market.
Large staking providers continue to dominate. Lido alone controls roughly 24% of all ETH locked. This is about 8.7 million ETH, according to Dune Analytics.
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A Look At Ethereum’s Price Chart
At press time, ETH was trading at $1,982.29. The asset witnessed a dainty rise of 0.86% in the past 24 hours. ETH had a fairly good 2025 as it recorded an all-time high of $4,953.73 back in August. But the latest market contditions has forced ETH to trade nearly 60% below its peak.
With staking participation steady, holders are focusing less on short-term price swings. A prolonged commitment similar to this could boost the overall price of the altcoin.
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