Key Takeaways
Solana’s yields and $67–70 billion staking cap lifted it past Ethereum’s $65–68 billion. Open Interest above $12 billion and TVL near $11.5 billion highlighted bullish momentum.
Solana [SOL] has surpassed Ethereum [ETH] to become the largest blockchain by staking market cap.
This milestone signals a growing divergence in how investors view yield opportunities, risk, and participation across the two ecosystems.
Two-thirds of SOL goes all-in
Roughly 67–70% of Solana’s circulating supply, which is about 410–420 million SOL, was actively staked across more than 1,300 validators and 1.2 million delegators.
At prevailing market levels, Solana’s staking market cap ranged between $67–70 billion, edging past Ethereum for the first time.
Participation has been striking. According to the data, about two-thirds of all SOL was locked in staking, highlighting confidence in the network’s design and reward structure.
Ethereum holds ground, but lags behind
Despite the development, Ethereum remained a powerhouse, with around 34–35 million ETH staked (roughly 28–30% of supply) and over a million validators.
Its staking market cap stood close behind Solana at $65–68 billion.
But Ethereum’s higher entry barrier, which requires 32 ETH to run a validator, and reliance on liquid staking providers like Lido [LDO], which controls nearly 88% of that market, have limited broader participation.
Yields were also lower, around 2.9 — 3% APY as per StakingRewards, though periodic token burns from EIP-1559 could tighten supply during high network activity.
Why Solana is ahead
The reason for Solana’s advantage is simple: higher yields. Stakers earned between 8.3–11.5% APY, boosted by Solana’s inflationary rewards and MEV tips from Jito [JTO], which powered more than 90% of validator stakes.
Inflation will decline gradually, but for now, SOL’s double-digit returns make it far more attractive than ETH.
Naturally, this milestone also translated into stronger demand across the SOL ecosystem. According to CoinGlass, Solana Open Interest climbed above $12 billion in the past week.
Source: CoinGlass
This suggested more institutional interest, another plus for Solana’s bullish price action.
Additionally, DeFiLlama data showed that Solana’s Total Value Locked (TVL) surged to $11.49 billion at the time of writing. It reinforced the ideas of renewed confidence from both traders and developers.
Source: DefiLlama
What does it mean going forward?
For the moment, Solana has pulled ahead in staking economics.
Whether it can hold that lead will depend on Ethereum’s next round of upgrades and whether Solana can sustain high yields without long-term inflation risks.
