Staked Ether (ETH) Close to All-Time High as ETF Approval Nears

Polymarket bettors give a 90% chance that ether ETFs will be approved by July 26.

A proposal to launch an ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S. has gained steam among bettors on prediction market Polymarket, with a 90% chance that the ETF will be approved by July 26.

Meanwhile, data from on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant shows that the total amount of ether staked has reached 33.3 million ETH, or 27.7% of the total supply, as of press time on Friday. This marks a slight increase from the 27.4% that was staked at the beginning of the year.

"The total number of staked ETH has continued to increase and sits near its all-time high as it stands at 33.3 million ETH or 27.7% of the total supply," Julio Moreno, CryptoQuant's head of research, wrote in a note shared with CoinDesk.

As previously reported by CoinDesk, the approval of an ether ETF would be a major milestone for the cryptocurrency, which has seen several attempts to launch an ETF fail in the past. However, the recent approval of a bitcoin (BTC) ETF and the increasing demand for ether have raised hopes that an ether ETF could finally be approved.

Several asset managers, including Invesco, Galaxy Digital and VanEck, have filed applications with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch spot ether ETFs. These ETFs would track the price of ether in real time, unlike futures ETFs, which track the price of ether futures contracts.

The applications are currently under review by the SEC, which has 45 days to approve, reject or delay the applications. If the applications are approved, the ether ETFs could begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange Arca as early as March 24.

Moreno also highlighted that the increasing supply of ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, suggests that it has returned to being an inflationary asset, which could hinder its ability to act as a store of value over time.

"ETH supply is growing again, although slowly. But the narrative of ultra-sound money has ended. The total supply is at its highest level since December 11, 23," Moreno wrote.

"Spot trading volume data shows ETH is becoming as liquid as BTC, with ETH spot trading volume being 80%-90% of BTC in the last few weeks," he added.

Data from CoinMetrics , on the other hand, shows that about 12% of ether's supply is being used in smart contracts or bridges that connect between blockchains. Between that amount and the tokens that are staked, roughly 40% of the cryptocurrency is "locked" and not being actively traded.