Ethereum pledge volume reaches a record of 41.7 million ETH, putting pressure on prices

Ethereum pledged volume hit a record high of 41.7 million ETH

Despite the sharp drop in market prices, Ethereum pledged volume has climbed to a new record of 41.7 million ETH, locking in more than one-third of the circulation supply of the cryptocurrency.

Summary

According to the CryptoQuant chart shared by Bitfinex, 41.7 million ETH have been pledged. Since January, the number of pledged ETH has increased by approximately 5.5 million. During the same period, ETH prices fell from approximately $3400 to $1900. Ethereum developers are discussing EIP-8363, a proposal that aims to reduce issuance as collateral increases.

Prices fell, but pledges increased instead.

The CryptoQuant chart shared by cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex on August 10 showed that the number of Ethereum (ETH) used for pledge has reached a record high of 41.7 million. This figure accounts for approximately one-third of Ethereum's circulating supply. CoinMarketCap data shows that the supply of this asset is close to 120.7 million ETH units, so approximately 34.5% of the supply has been pledged.

"Pledged ETH has climbed to a historical record of 41.7 million, accounting for one-third of all ETH, while the price has dropped from $3400 in January to $1900," Bitfinex wrote. The chart shows that pledged deposits have remained at approximately 36 million ETH until the end of 2025. They began to grow continuously in February, continued to rise in the second quarter, and further accelerated between June and August.

The increase came against the backdrop of a decline in ETH of approximately 44% from January levels. When Bitfinex released its chart, Ethereum was trading at approximately $1900, indicating that verifiers and long-term holders continue to lock in tokens even as the spot market weakens. In January, 36.2 million ETH (approximately 30% of supply) had been pledged. The latest data means that approximately 5.5 million ETH were added in less than seven months.

Reinvestment incentives drive continued growth in pledged ETH

Ethereum verifiers obtain newly issued ETH by proposing blocks, verifying transactions, and supporting network consensus. They can also charge priority fees and maximum extractable value. Part of the income can be reinvested in pledge, which can have a compound interest effect even if the price of ETH dollars falls. However, as more verifiers join, yields will fall as Ethereum allocates issuance based on a larger pledge balance.

Corporate finance companies have become an important part of this trend. As of July 12, BitMine had approximately 4.9 million ETH pledged, accounting for approximately 85% of its Ethereum holdings. The company generated $45.7 million in revenue through pledges and verification in the quarter ended May 31. Chairman Tom Lee predicts that if BitMine pledges all of its ETH assets, annualized rewards could reach US$284 million, but gains depend on yields and verifier conditions. SharpLink also uses most of its Ethereum assets as collateral. Its strategy continued to generate ETH rewards even as falling market prices led to a second-quarter loss of $394.3 million.

Pledges hit a new high, reigniting the Ethereum circulation debate

Continued growth has reignited discussions about how much ETH should be used for cybersecurity and whether Ethereum's reward curve encourages excessive pledges. EIP-8363 (or "cone issue burning") will burn an increasing share of consensus level rewards as pledge ratios rise. When about half of Ethereum's supply is pledged, the mechanism will remove issue-based rewards. The authors of the proposal believe that the current system continues to reward new deposits even after additional deposits provide limited safety benefits. EIP-8363 is still under review and has not yet been approved for an Ethereum upgrade.

SharpLink CEO Joseph Chalom opposed the plan, arguing that native earnings supported Ethereum's institutional appeal and served as a benchmark for decentralized financial yields.

U.S. institutions expand ETH revenue channels

Pledges have also become more convenient through U.S. regulated investment products. Grayscale distributed approximately $9.4 million in ETH pledge proceeds to eligible ETHE shareholders in January, the first such payment for a U.S. -listed Ethereum product. Morgan Stanley has also added pledge terms to its proposed Ethereum ETF. Its documents show that as of May 18, 3.64 million ETH were waiting to enter verification, meaning that activation was delayed by approximately 63 days.

Continued institutional involvement may further remove ETH from the liquid market. However, pledges do not guarantee price increases, and the divergence between record deposits and ETH declines suggests that supply constraints may be offset by broader selling pressure.