Ethereum’s supply squeeze: ETH2 deposit contract controls nearly 69% of all ETH

The Ethereum ($ETH) available in the market has steadily declined as of April 3, 2026, amid rising Ether deposits in the ETH2 Beacon Deposit Contract (0x000).

As of press time, the total staked $ETH had surged to 83 million, thereby representing 68.77% of the altcoin’s circulating supply of 120.69 million units. As such, the ETH2 staking contract controls approximately $170 billion at the time of reporting, according to metrics from Arkham Intelligence.

The number of $ETH deposited in this contract surged by 10.67% during the past three months as more institutional investors, including Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) and spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), accelerated staking due to regulatory clarity in the United States. For instance, Bitmine Immersion Technologies announced earlier this week that it has staked 3,142,643 $ETH, valued at around $6.3 billion.

Last month, BlackRock launched its staked Ethereum ETF dubbed iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB), which had 44,424.9 $ETH at the time of publication, as per official data.

What’s the market impact of the Ethereum supply squeeze via staking?

The ongoing Ethereum supply squeeze driven by staking could affect price and market liquidity. As more $ETH is removed from circulation through staking, the reduced supply could influence price volatility and liquidity in the market.

Moreover, the linear increase in staked Ethereum year-to-date (YTD) is a clear indication of a rising demand from institutional investors. Long-term conviction in $ETH has risen, catalyzed by regulatory clarity in the United States, particularly from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which recently clarified that protocol-level crypto staking does not constitute the offer or sale of a security.

As such, the $ETH price is well positioned to benefit in the long run from the ongoing mainstream adoption of staking services. Furthermore, despite the rising supply of staked Ethereum YTD, the altcoin has dropped more than 30% to trade at about $2,055 at publication time, as per updates from Finbold.