Ethereum Staking Yield Shrinks, but a 1.38 Million ETH Entry Line Keeps Growing

By Isaac • October 24, 2026 7:18 am •

Ethereum staking is paying less than it used to, but investors are still lining up to lock away a staggering amount of ETH.

Roughly 1.38 million ETH was waiting to enter staking as of October 23, according to current network data cited by CryptoSlate. The estimated wait for a new validator had stretched to 24 days and nine hours.

That is the interesting tension: the yield has narrowed to the point where it barely beats some conventional cash rates, yet demand to stake keeps building.

Lido was quoting an annual staking return of roughly 2.2%. For a hypothetical €10,000 position, that works out to about €220 over a year if the ETH price does not move.