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Major proof-of-stake networks saw broad contraction in staked value over the past week, with Cardano (ADA) posting the steepest drop among leading chains even as Binance’s BNB Chain (BNB) stood out for strengthening reward metrics. The divergence underscores how token price moves can pressure 'staking market cap' while protocol-level payout dynamics remain resilient—or even improve—on select networks.

According to data compiled by Staking Rewards on Tuesday ET, Ethereum (ETH) maintained the top position by staked market capitalization, but fell 11.74% week over week to about $64.53 billion. Solana (SOL) held second place at $27.54 billion, down 14.01% over the same period, while Hyperliquid (HYPE) came in at $25.22 billion, slipping 16.95%.

BNB Chain ranked next with roughly $15.24 billion staked, down 9.05% week over week. Tron (TRX) followed at about $14.84 billion and recorded the smallest decline among the top names, edging down just 0.52%. Sui (SUI) stood at $5.42 billion, down 8.29%.

Cardano’s staked market cap dropped 22.19% to around $3.6 billion—the largest weekly pullback among the major networks tracked—while Bittensor (TAO) declined 9.16% to $1.51 billion. Avalanche (AVAX) also fell sharply, down 19.22% to about $1.5 billion.

Participation metrics remained elevated on several ecosystems despite the market-wide decline in staked value. Bittensor led in staking participation relative to supply with a 76.06% staking ratio, followed by Sui at 72.21% and Solana at 67.45%, suggesting a continued preference among holders to keep tokens locked for yield or network participation.

In terms of wallets participating in staking—a proxy for breadth of engagement—Solana led with about 1.5 million staking wallets. Cardano followed with roughly 1.28 million, while Ethereum registered about 782,220. Although wallet counts were broadly steady, Avalanche posted the largest weekly increase at 5.01%, and Solana rose 1.66%.

Reward indicators painted a more mixed picture. BNB Chain posted the highest 'real yield' at 7.67%, up 1.21 percentage points week over week. Avalanche’s real yield was estimated at 3.11%, followed by Tron at 2.76%, Bittensor at 2.40%, Ethereum at 2.06%, and Solana at 1.55%. Sui remained in negative territory at -1.23%, highlighting how inflation, emissions schedules, and token price dynamics can outweigh nominal payouts when measured in real terms.

Estimated annual rewards were still led by Ethereum at about $1.93 billion, while Solana followed at roughly $1.58 billion. Hyperliquid was estimated at $564.81 million in annual rewards, Tron at $461.25 million, and BNB Chain at $341.86 million.

Over the last seven days, BNB Chain recorded the biggest jump in estimated annual rewards, rising 33.82%. By contrast, Cardano saw the sharpest decline at 22.46%, with other networks also trending lower: Avalanche fell 19.02%, Hyperliquid 16.05%, Bittensor 12.22%, Solana 11.63%, Sui 9.18%, Ethereum 8.68%, and Tron 2.94%.

The latest figures point to a staking market still highly engaged at the user level, even as staked valuation compresses alongside broader price fluctuations. For investors and builders, the split between declining staked market caps and strengthening yield metrics on chains like BNB Chain highlights how 'network incentives' and 'token performance' can move in different directions—an important consideration as staking remains central to security and liquidity across proof-of-stake ecosystems.

Article Summary by TokenPost.ai