BlockBeats report, May 19: Despite Ethereum's price declining approximately 26% this year, the Ethereum staking ratio has risen from 29% at the beginning of the year to around 31%, indicating that long-term holders are continuing to reduce the circulating supply, disregarding price weakness and on-chain risks.
Historical data shows that, against the backdrop of a constrained liquid supply, a substantial rebound in demand will provide favorable price support. Meanwhile, liquid staking protocols such as Lido have significantly lowered participation barriers, expanding the staking community from professional validators to a broader base of retail and institutional users.
Analysis suggests that as spot ETF products mature and RWA tokenization activity on Ethereum expands, institutional demand for staked ETH could bring structural capital inflows to the staking ecosystem. Despite Ethereum’s weak price performance, its central role in RWA settlement, DeFi infrastructure, and Layer 2 activity continues to strengthen; whether the price reverses may depend on how quickly institutional capital shifts from narrative to actual allocation.