> At a Glance
> – Ether hit $3,250 on Monday, its highest since December 12
> – BitMine locked up $2.1 billion in ETH in just 14 days
> – Grayscale became the first spot ETH ETF to pay staking rewards
> – Why it matters: Institutional staking demand is driving ETH’s 16% 2025 jump while Bitcoin lags at 6.7%
Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin in the first trading days of 2025, fueled by a wave of institutional staking led by BitMine and the arrival of staking payouts from U.S. spot ETFs.
Price Momentum Builds
ETH has climbed 16% year-to-date, trading above $3,250 for the first time in three weeks. Analyst ‘Merlijn’ told News Of Los Angeles the rally has room to run:
> “Ethereum is still cheap. We’re not in ‘Take Profit’ territory. We’re in Accumulation. HODL. Expansion mode.”
Bitcoin, by comparison, has managed a 6.7% gain over the same period.
BitMine’s Staking Spree
BitMine, the world’s largest Ether treasury, revealed it has staked:
- 250,592 ETH in the past seven days
- 659,219 ETH total as of January 4
- $2.1 billion worth added since late December
Its holdings now represent 1.85% of the 35.6 million ETH staked on the Beacon Chain. The aggressive inflow pushed the validator entry queue to 1.3 million ETH, the highest since mid-November, while the exit queue hovers near zero.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| ETH staked by BitMine | 659,219 |
| Share of total staked supply | 1.85% |
| Annualized staking fees at scale | $374 million |
BitMine is preparing to launch its MAVAN (Made in America VAlidator Network) later this year and currently works with three staking partners.
Spot ETF Staking Arrives
Grayscale distributed staking rewards to investors on Monday, becoming the first U.S. spot crypto ETF to do so.
ETF expert Nate Geraci noted:
> “Spot ETH ETFs didn’t even exist a year and a half ago … Now [they’re] making staking distributions to investors. Wild how far the crypto ETF space has come in a short amount of time.”
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyfart added that spot Ether ETFs are “doing okay considering the price performance of ETH, but they’ve seen 18% of their flows leave.”
Key Takeaways
- ETH is up 16% in under a week, beating Bitcoin’s 6.7% rise
- BitMine controls nearly 2% of all staked Ether after a $2.1 billion sprint
- Validator entry queue surged to 1.3 million ETH as exit demand dries up
- Grayscale’s first staking payout signals growing ETF competition
With institutional staking demand accelerating and validator queues swelling, Ethereum’s early 2025 surge may have fresh fuel ahead.
