Key Takeaways
- • Ethereum closed Q3 2026 with 43.80 million ETH staked, or 35.9% of total supply, while its annualized staking yield fell to 2.63% from 2.81%, according to Bitwise's Q3 2026 staking report.
- • Newly issued ETH supplied about 96.3% of Ethereum's staking yield, with transaction fees contributing little, as average transaction costs fell from $1.35 to $0.45 over the past year.
- • Solana's active stake rose to 440.5 million SOL, or 69% of supply, yet its gross yield slipped to 5.99% from 6.38%, per Bitwise.
- • Hyperliquid's staking yield held roughly flat at 2.24% even as fees and reserve income reached $228.1 million, up 24.8% quarter over quarter, with TradeXYZ accounting for about 98.9% of market-deployer volume.
- • Robinhood Chain processed 870.2 million transactions and $14.05 billion in DEX volume in its debut quarter, but has no independent staking system.
Summary
Bitwise's Q3 2026 staking report finds that record staking levels on Ethereum and Solana have not translated into higher returns for stakers. Ethereum closed the quarter with 43.80 million ETH staked, representing 35.9% of total supply, yet annualized yield dropped to 2.63% from 2.81% because more ETH now competes for the same reward pool. According to Bitwise, Bitmine's (NASDAQ:BMNR) stake climbed from roughly 410,000 tokens in December to 5.07 million by late September, driving much of the growth. Newly issued ETH supplied about 96.3% of the yield, with transaction fees contributing little. Average transaction costs fell from $1.35 to $0.45 over the past year, which Bitwise attributed to expanded network capacity.
Solana showed a similar pattern. Active stake rose to 440.5 million SOL, or 69% of supply, while gross yield slipped to 5.99% from 6.38%. Transaction volume reached a record 14.2 billion, up 45% from the prior quarter, and network fees climbed to roughly $76 million. Pump.fun (CRYPTO: PUMP) alone generated $135 million, according to the report. Tokenized equities grew 59% to $669 million in circulating value.
Beyond the two largest networks, Hyperliquid, measured by Hyperliquid Strategies (PURR), kept its staking yield largely flat at 2.24%. Fees and reserve income reached $228.1 million, up 24.8% quarter over quarter, and non-crypto perpetual markets, including equities and indexes, generated $261.5 billion in volume. Bitwise flagged concentration risk, with TradeXYZ accounting for roughly 98.9% of market-deployer volume. A faulty external price feed in the SK Hynix market triggered a wave of liquidations during the quarter. NEAR Protocol (NEARUSD) held its staking yield near 4.87% even as base-chain transactions fell 12.5% quarter over quarter, while NEAR Intents, a cross-chain routing service, saw volume rise 66.8% to $10.41 billion.
Robinhood Chain (HOOD), which runs on Ethereum and has no independent staking system, posted a strong debut quarter with 870.2 million transactions, $51.11 million in gross fees, and $14.05 billion in decentralized exchange volume driven by its 193 Stock Tokens. Daily trading growth rose from $17 million in July to $377.1 million by September.
Solana showed a similar pattern. Active stake rose to 440.5 million SOL, or 69% of supply, while gross yield slipped to 5.99% from 6.38%. Transaction volume reached a record 14.2 billion, up 45% from the prior quarter, and network fees climbed to roughly $76 million. Pump.fun (CRYPTO: PUMP) alone generated $135 million, according to the report. Tokenized equities grew 59% to $669 million in circulating value.
Beyond the two largest networks, Hyperliquid, measured by Hyperliquid Strategies (PURR), kept its staking yield largely flat at 2.24%. Fees and reserve income reached $228.1 million, up 24.8% quarter over quarter, and non-crypto perpetual markets, including equities and indexes, generated $261.5 billion in volume. Bitwise flagged concentration risk, with TradeXYZ accounting for roughly 98.9% of market-deployer volume. A faulty external price feed in the SK Hynix market triggered a wave of liquidations during the quarter. NEAR Protocol (NEARUSD) held its staking yield near 4.87% even as base-chain transactions fell 12.5% quarter over quarter, while NEAR Intents, a cross-chain routing service, saw volume rise 66.8% to $10.41 billion.
Robinhood Chain (HOOD), which runs on Ethereum and has no independent staking system, posted a strong debut quarter with 870.2 million transactions, $51.11 million in gross fees, and $14.05 billion in decentralized exchange volume driven by its 193 Stock Tokens. Daily trading growth rose from $17 million in July to $377.1 million by September.
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