Ethereum Tops 50% Staked Supply, Marking First-Ever Proof-of-Stake Milestone

On 19 February 2026, Ethereum passed a key threshold as more than half of all ETH became locked in the proof-of-stake contract for the first time. The share is cited at 50.18% on a pre-burn basis, while about 120M ETH currently exist after burns, indicating a tighter liquid float and deeper validator participation. A proposal dubbed ERC-5564 also introduces stealth addresses for programmable on-chain privacy.