PANews reported on April 21 that according to Cryptoslate, on April 20, Solana's total staking value (in US dollars) briefly surpassed Ethereum. According to staking data shared by Nansen CEO Alex Svanevik, Solana's staked SOL tokens were worth more than $53.9 billion at their peak. This figure is slightly higher than Ethereum's $53.7 billion staking market value on the same day. However, Solana's lead was fleeting. At press time, Ethereum has regained the top spot with a staking value of $56 billion, while Solana is $54 billion.
Although Solana is only temporarily ahead, the incident has reignited discussions about staking incentives, network security, and user behavior in both ecosystems. Market observers point out that an important factor in Solana's rise is its attractive staking yield. According to Staking Rewards, Solana currently offers a network-level return of 8.31%, significantly higher than Ethereum's 2.98%. This difference may prompt users to choose to stake tokens rather than participate in lending or provide liquidity through DeFi protocols. In addition, Solana's staking participation rate is about 65%, showing active community participation. However, Solana lacks a severe punishment mechanism for misbehaving validators. Therefore, critics such as Ethereum researcher Dankrad Feist believe that while Solana encourages staking, it sacrifices economic security in the process.
