Ethereum staking pays about 2.2%, barely above euro deposits, CryptoSlate finds
In brief
- €10,000 staked at 2.2% earns about €220 a year if ETH's price is flat, per CryptoSlate.
- €220 return is €7 more than average new euro household deposits of up to one year.
- About 1.38 million ETH was queued to stake as of Oct. 23, a 24-day wait.
- 44.1 million ETH, more than 36% of supply, was already staked.
The yield math
Lido pools ETH and issues stETH (a transferable token representing a share of the pool and its rewards), and its quoted annual rate is about 2.2%. That rate already includes Lido's standard rewards fee. It's also paid in ETH, so a holder's token balance can rise while its euro value falls.
The cash side isn't one number. The ECB's deposit facility rate was 2.5%, but it's only available to eligible banks placing money with the Eurosystem. ECB data for August showed ordinary savers got an average of 0.29% on overnight balances, while newly agreed household deposits of up to one year paid 2.13%. €STR, the wholesale euro overnight benchmark, was 2.442% on Oct. 22.
On €10,000, CryptoSlate put the annual gap between stETH and €STR at just €24.20.
Price does the heavy lifting
In CryptoSlate's example, a 5% fall in ETH's euro price would leave the staked investment worth about €9,709. A 5% gain would leave it at €10,731, compared with €10,500 for holding the same ETH without staking.
Recent returns show the same pattern. ETH lost 9.08% in euro terms over the 30 days ending Oct. 22, while wrapped stETH lost 8.93%, according to CryptoSlate's calculations from CoinGecko snapshots at 00:00 UTC (excluding trading costs). Wrapped stETH keeps the number of tokens in a wallet fixed, while each token represents a growing amount of stETH.
"Over the 90-day window, both gained roughly a third, with the staking token finishing only slightly further up."
The queue hasn't gone away
The thin yield hasn't emptied the line. About 1.38 million ETH was waiting to enter staking as of Oct. 23, with an estimated wait of 24 days and nine hours, CryptoSlate reported. That's smaller than the 2.06 million ETH backlog tracked in August, and another 44.1 million ETH (more than 36% of the supply) was already staked.
Big holders and brokers are in the mix too. CryptoSlate reported that BitMine had about $12 billion in ETH staked, and that Interactive Brokers added Ethereum staking for eligible clients in October.
Frequently asked questions
How does Ethereum staking yield compare with euro deposit rates?
CryptoSlate calculated that €10,000 staked at Lido's roughly 2.2% rate would earn about €220 a year at a flat ETH price. That's €7 more than average new euro household deposits of up to one year, which paid 2.13% in the ECB's August data. The annual gap versus the €STR benchmark was €24.20.
Why can a stETH position lose euro value while still earning rewards?
Lido's roughly 2.2% rate describes rewards paid in ETH, so a holder's token balance can rise while its euro value falls. In CryptoSlate's example, a 5% fall in ETH's euro price would leave a €10,000 staked position worth about €9,709.
