YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — Solana staking market cap has officially passed Ethereum’s, reaching $53.15 billion compared to Ethereum staking’s $53.72 billion. This data, published by StakingRewards on April 21, shows a shift in how investors allocate their tokens for passive rewards.
This metric is calculated by multiplying the number of staked tokens by their current price. As of now, the price of SOL stands at $138.91. At the same time, 64.86% of Solana’s total supply is staked, offering a yield of 8.31%. In contrast, Ethereum staking covers only 28.18% of the total ETH supply and delivers a 2.98% annual yield.
Because of the large staking ratio and stronger rewards, Solana staking market cap has moved ahead. As a result, investors and developers are paying closer attention to Solana’s position in the proof-of-stake space.
SOL Security Model Questioned for Lacking Slashing
However, this sharp increase in Solana staking market cap has also led to renewed criticism of its validator rules. One of the key concerns is Solana’s lack of a slashing mechanism—a system that penalizes bad behavior by validators.
Dankrad Feist, an Ethereum Foundation researcher, addressed this issue on X. He wrote,
“It’s very ironic to call it ‘staking’ when there is no slashing. What’s at stake? Solana has close to zero economic security at the moment.”
Slashing acts as a form of economic security on proof-of-stake networks like Ethereum. It punishes validators for downtime or malicious behavior by cutting into their staked assets. Without such penalties, critics argue that Solana’s staking model may not ensure the same level of discipline.
Even though staking participation on Solana is high, the absence of slashing continues to raise questions among developers and analysts who compare network structures across different chains.
Whale Activity Around Solana Staking Sends Mixed Signals
Meanwhile, Solana whale activity has intensified. From April 15 to April 20, several large movements of SOL were recorded. For instance, one whale unstaked 37,803 SOL—worth $5.26 million—on April 20.
Additionally, Galaxy Digital removed 606,000 SOL from exchanges during the same week, ultimately retaining 462,000 SOL.
In another notable move, a newly created wallet withdrew around $5.15 million worth of SOL from Binance on April 17. Binance itself saw whale outflows of more than 370,000 SOL, valued at $52.78 million.
Yet, not all whales pulled back. Janover, a U.S.-listed firm, expanded its holdings to 163,651.7 SOL, worth $21.2 million. On April 16, the company partnered with Kraken to begin staking its SOL holdings.
Therefore, while some large holders reduced exposure, others increased their positions. These contrasting moves suggest mixed sentiment across institutional players in response to market changes and Solana staking performance.
SOL Price Holds Above Support as Traders Watch $144 Level
Solana’s price hovered at $140.49 on April 21, showing a 3.53% gain in the previous 24 hours. According to crypto analyst Ali on X, the key support level is $129. This line marks the price below which increased selling may occur. On the upside, $144 is seen as a critical resistance level.
Over the past seven days, the SOL price increased 14.34%. Several factors contributed to this rise, including whale accumulation, the higher Solana staking market cap, and network upgrades. If Solana’s price stays above $129, traders expect continued short-term stability.
Although the price has recovered, volatility remains high. Solana’s proximity to the $144 resistance is keeping traders focused on potential breakouts or rejections at that level.
Solana DeFi Infrastructure Adds QUIC, PoH, and Solidity Support
Solana has made several changes to its technical infrastructure. The network uses a hybrid consensus model that includes both Proof-of-History (PoH) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS). This setup is designed to record timestamps and process blocks more efficiently.
It has also adopted the QUIC protocol, which helps with faster and more stable data transmission across the network. Additionally, the Solang compiler now works with Solidity, Ethereum’s programming language. This allows developers to use existing Solidity code on Solana without rewriting it.
The network is also seeing more validator clients being developed independently. This helps reduce dependency on any single implementation and supports broader validator participation. These technical updates are focused on increasing throughput and enabling support for additional decentralized applications.
Solana Breakpoint Conference May Highlight More Growth
Solana’s Breakpoint community event is scheduled to take place soon. These conferences usually involve project updates, feature rollouts, and community coordination efforts.
While Solana staking market cap has surged, Ethereum still maintains a stronger position in decentralized finance. Ethereum’s broader adoption in institutional sectors and its mature DeFi ecosystem continue to support its role in the market.
Ethereum staking remains at 28%, meaning more tokens are available for use in lending, trading, and other DeFi protocols. This design supports higher liquidity.
Solana, in comparison, has locked 65% of its token supply into staking. While this improves staking rewards and network participation, it limits the tokens available for decentralized applications. Some developers say this trade-off could impact DeFi adoption on Solana unless the ecosystem adapts.
The data points to a growing Solana staking market cap, but also highlights the technical, economic, and liquidity dynamics shaping its path forward.
