Ethereum Staking Demand Rises as Institutions Deepen Crypto Exposure

Source: DefiPlanet Original Title: Ethereum Staking Demand Rises as Institutions and Wall Street Deepen Crypto Exposure Original Link:

Quick Breakdown

• Ethereum staking entry queue surpasses exit queue for the first time in six months
• Major financial institutions file with regulators to launch spot Bitcoin and Solana ETFs
• DeFi platforms and L2 networks introduce new tokens, features, and upgrades to boost efficiency and user engagement

Ethereum Staking and DeFi Activity Accelerate

Ethereum’s network is showing renewed strength as staking demand accelerates and major financial institutions move closer to direct crypto market participation, highlighting a shift in both on-chain and traditional finance activity.

For the first time in six months, Ethereum’s staking entry queue has surpassed the exit queue, signalling increased confidence among validators and long-term holders. More than 745,000 ETH is now waiting to be staked, compared with roughly 360,000 ETH queued for withdrawal, easing near-term concerns around selling pressure.

The shift has been driven largely by institutional participation, with digital asset treasury firms increasing large-scale staking activity. Network upgrades aimed at improving data availability and staking efficiency have also supported renewed interest. At the same time, Ethereum-based DeFi activity strengthened, with trading volumes and prices rising sharply over the past week, while volatility declined.

Wall Street, Stablecoins, and Infrastructure Moves

Beyond Ethereum, broader crypto markets were shaped by a series of high-impact announcements. A major global bank filed with US regulators to launch spot Bitcoin and Solana exchange-traded funds, marking a notable move toward in-house crypto investment products.

In the stablecoin sector, Solana-based Jupiter launched JupUSD, a dollar-pegged token backed primarily by tokenised money market assets, underscoring the growing convergence between traditional finance instruments and on-chain liquidity. Infrastructure providers also pushed forward, with new tokens and features aimed at improving capital efficiency across perpetuals and derivatives platforms.

Not all developments were smooth. Ethereum layer-2 network Starknet suffered a temporary outage, while Flow reversed plans for a full network rollback following a recent exploit, opting instead for targeted remediation to protect decentralisation.

Underlying these developments, Ethereum’s role in global on-chain payments continues to expand. Stablecoin transfer volume on the network surged to a record $8 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025, nearly doubling the previous quarter and reinforcing Ethereum’s position as the dominant settlement layer for stablecoin activity.