According to blockchain data, demand for liquid Ethereum strike options has been increasing in the months since the merger.
Blockchain data analysis conducted by Nansen highlights the ever-growing volume of Ether
ETH
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$1,576
Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) transition to consensus has seen various staking solutions floated in the months since.
The highly anticipated merger is a boon for decentralized finance (DeFi) in general, and staking solutions have been in high demand since Ethereum moved to PoS. This is according to blockchain data from various staking solutions across the Ethereum ecosystem.
Nansen’s report highlights the merger’s impact in introducing ETH staking as a leveraged cryptocurrency yielding instrument that is rapidly outpacing other yielding services.
Uniswap and other automated market makers and liquidity providers remain popular but pale in comparison to the total value locked in ETH staking solutions. More than 15.4 million ETH are locked into the Ethereum Stake Agreement, which is worth a total ETH stake in the top six cryptocurrencies by market capitalization alone:
“Staked ETH is the first malleable tool to reach significant scale in DeFi and can grow and radically transform the ecosystem in the coming years.”
Nansen provides some interesting insights from the liquid stacked derivatives data. When Ethereum moved to PoS, miners were replaced by validators who had to invest 32 ETH or buy shares to propose new blocks and earn protocol rewards. Users who are unable or unwilling to stake 32 ETH can participate in pooled betting known as liquid betting. It also allows users to withdraw their staked ETH at any time.
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Nansen metrics reveal that liquid stocks are weighted toward long-term holders, while recently launched protocols are attracting new investment faster than established services. Of the total 14.5 million ETH, 5.7 million are invested in equity pools such as Lido and Rocket Pool, representing 40% of the total ETH in the ecosystem.
Lido’s Stacked ETH (stETH) pool dominates the space with a 79% share of the total Stacked ETH market supply. 52% of stETH tokens are in the wrapped stETH contract of Aave, Curve and Lido, indicating interest and utility for investors and DeFi applications. stETH saw a 127% increase in average daily trading volume after the Ethereum merger.
Related: 64% of ETH Stake Controlled by 5 Entities – Nansen
Meanwhile, pools belonging to Rocket Pool (RETH) and Coinbase (CBETH) saw the biggest growth over the past three months, with increases of 52.5% and 43.3%, respectively. Coinbase’s cbETH has outperformed stETH and all other assets in supply despite only launching in August 2022.
The growth of Coinbase’s ETH deposit option shows that everyday users still trust centralized institutions and are content to earn income from staking ETH, as opposed to more complex on-chain strategies.
