Ethereum’s Shapella hard fork was a controversial upgrade that ignited fears of selling pressure. But the latest data tells a different story.

In January 2024, Intotheblock’s data revealed the highest Ethereum staking rate, reaching approximately 30 million ETH staked, accompanied by a staking participation rate of over 24%. This milestone suggested a preference for staking over promptly selling off tokens.

• Ethereum locked-in staking keeps surging, while only 11% of the token supply is currently stored on centralized exchanges.
• Analyzing the latest figures, it’s evident that the much-talked-about Ethereum upgrade, Shapella – enabling stakers to withdraw their coins for the first time since December 2020 – did not lead to the widespread unstaking as initially predicted.
• Even with the introduction of the new feature enabling stakers to retrieve their tokens, the current staked amount stands at 29.13 million ETH, accounting for 24.2% of the total supply.

According to @intotheblock January 2024 witnessed the highest eth staking rate with about 29,128,513.51 ETH staked and a staking participation rate of 24.29%.https://t.co/9ZAwSxhUZm pic.twitter.com/7327HLpUcH

— champagne mami 💕 (@EkponoAkwaowo) January 24, 2024

• The Ethereum staking rate is a metric composed of two components – rewards for consensus layer duties and priority transaction fees.
• The rewards are guided by Ethereum’s transparent “monetary policy,” adapting based on the total staked ETH, prioritizing security. The transaction fees, on the other hand, are influenced by the demand on the Ethereum network, typically rising when new information or opportunities emerge.
• As such, expanding the user base and use cases for Ethereum’s staking rate is crucial for enhancing network security, attracting new investments in ether, and establishing connections between digital assets and traditional finance.