Solana Stakes the Lead... But at What Cost?

Solana briefly overtaking Ethereum in terms of staked token value might not be a good thing.

Author

Danielle du Toit
April 21, 2025

Here's what we've got for you today:

  • Debate as Solana Briefly Flips Ethereum in Staking Market Cap

  • Over 13000 Institutions Now Exposed to Bitcoin Through Strategy

  • Vitalik Buterin Charts Ethereum’s Future as Peter Brandt Predicts Collapse

  • Synthetix Founder Threatens SNX Stakers with ‘the Stick’ to Fix sUSD Depeg

Solana was able to briefly overtake Ethereum in terms of staked token value, but is this a bullish or bearish milestone?

  • Solana briefly surpassed Ethereum in total staked value, with over $53.9 billion worth of SOL staked by more than 505,000 unique wallets.

  • Critics now argue that Solana’s high staking yield may be bearish, as it disincentivizes participation in DeFi protocols.

  • DeFi engagement is still stronger on Ethereum, with $21.5 billion in liquid staked ETH compared to only $7.22 billion in liquid staked SOL. This suggests that there is broader utility and adoption on Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem.

Bitcoin’s mainstream adoption is accelerating, and Michael Saylor’s Strategy is partly to thank for this.

  • Strategy now holds over 531,000 BTC after its April 14 purchase of 3,459 BTC worth $285 million.

  • Over 13,000 institutions and 814,000 retail accounts hold shares of Strategy (MSTR), with an estimated 55 million people gaining indirect Bitcoin exposure via ETFs, mutual funds, pensions, and insurance products.

  • Strategy’s inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 in December of 2024 boosted its visibility and positioned it as a key conduit for traditional market capital flowing into Bitcoin through innovative financing methods like corporate debt and equity.

Vitalik Buterin proposed a radical execution layer overhaul using RISC-V, but veteran trader Peter Brandt warned of a potential price collapse.

  • Vitalik Buterin proposed replacing Ethereum's current EVM bytecode with RISC-V to improve execution efficiency by up to 100x and address scalability challenges.

  • The proposal targets key issues like data availability, block production, and zero-knowledge proof generation, which are all seen as critical for Ethereum’s long-term competitiveness amid declining fee revenue and user activity.

  • On the other hand, veteran trader Peter Brandt warned of a potential Ethereum price collapse to $800, due to a descending triangle pattern and bearish sentiment in the community.

Kain Warwick threatened SNX stakers if they don’t take up a newly launched staking mechanism to help fix the protocol’s sUSD depeg.

  • Synthetix launched the sUSD 420 Pool on April 18, offering 5 million SNX in rewards over 12 months to users who lock their sUSD for a year. This was done to fix the ongoing sUSD depeg issue.

  • Founder Kain Warwick warned SNX stakers on April 21 that if the new staking mechanism doesn’t gain traction, the team may increase pressure on stakers.

  • Warwick admitted the current process is “very manual” without a UI, but held firm that resolving the sUSD depeg is the responsibility of SNX stakers.

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