Ethereum PoS Deposit Contract Surpasses 80.9M ETH and Half of Historic Supply on February 18

On February 18, data attributed to Santiment showed Ethereum's proof-of-stake deposit contract holding over 80.9 million ETH, crossing the halfway mark of the network's historical issuance under a specific calculation method. The contract works as a one-way vault where staked ETH is locked to help secure the network and can only be released through validator exits and new issuance. Analysts highlight that the "50%" figure is based on historical supply and does not necessarily mean half of the currently circulating ETH is staked.