Ethereum Staking Pays About 3% and a 10-Year Treasury Pays 4.8%. Is Staking ETH Still Worth It?
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Ethereum staking offers around a 3% annual return, but a 10-year Treasury bond yields 4.8%. That means if you stake $10,000 in Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH), you’d earn about $300 a year. In contrast, the same amount in a 10-year Treasury would earn around $484, putting Ethereum staking $184 behind, even before ETH’s price moves.
The reality is even less favorable. The Compass Staking Yield Reference Index puts Ethereum’s live staking yield closer to 2.5%, with the network-wide rate around 2.4%, as the recent slide in staking yields shows. Every example here assumes 3%, so the true gap with the Treasury is even wider.
Many holders feel trapped as Ethereum’s price keeps falling. ETH trades around $2,146 as of November 9, 2026, down 4.8% over the past month and about 57% below its all-time high. So with Ethereum staking yielding well below the 10-year Treasury, is staking ETH still worth it?
Staked ETH and Treasuries Carry Different Risks, Lockups and Taxes
Some investors see staking as a way to boost returns rather than a main source of income. One r/ethereum member called it “fine, as a yield boost,” as we noted when comparing staking yields on Ethereum, Solana and Avalanche.
| Factor | Staked ETH | 10-Year Treasury |
|---|---|---|
| Yield | About 2.5% live (3% assumed) | 4.84% |
| Risk to Principal | ETH’s price swings, plus slashing for validators who break the rules | Repaid in full at maturity, but can lose value if sold early |
| Lockup and Exit | Entry queue of about 899,000 ETH (about 16 days); short exit queue, then a 7.1-day withdrawal sweep | Can be sold on any trading day |
| Tax | Rewards taxed as ordinary income when received | Federally taxed, exempt from state and local income tax |
Exit queues can also swell quickly. The staking exit queue hit a 2026 high in October, and 1.68 million ETH was already waiting to leave when the SEC clarified its staking rules in September.
What Happens to $10,000 After One and Three Years?
Ethereum’s price would need to rise about 1.8% a year for staking to match the Treasury before tax. However, a 10% rise in ETH adds $1,000 to the position, more than five years’ worth of the yield gap. So Ethereum’s price drives the outcome far more than the staking yield does.
| Scenario ($10,000) | One Year | Three Years |
|---|---|---|
| ETH flat, staked at 3% | $10,300 | $10,927 |
| ETH up 25%, staked | $12,875 | $13,659 |
| ETH down 25%, staked | $7,725 | $8,195 |
| 10-Year Treasury at 4.84% | $10,484 | $11,452 |
The scenario where ETH drops 25% shows the risk. Even after three years of staking rewards, that position is worth only $8,195, well below the Treasury’s $11,452.
These Treasury figures assume the bond is held to maturity. A 10-year bond sold early can lose value when interest rates rise, and the yield hit a 12-month high of 5.31% on October 5.
Taxes also widen the gap. Under IRS Revenue Ruling 2023-14, staking rewards count as income once the holder gains “dominion and control” of them, even if ETH’s price falls afterward.
Who Should Stake, Who Should Choose Bonds and Where ETFs Fit
This information is general, not investment advice. Staking suits long-term holders who plan to keep their ETH regardless, since the yield adds a bonus to an asset already exposed to price swings. For example, BitMine staked about 5.23 million of its 6.07 million ETH in today’s 8-K filing.
On the flip side, the 10-year Treasury is a better fit for money you’ll need within a few years. Staking that money in ETH looks less appealing, because ETH’s 4.8% drop over the past month already exceeds a full year of staking rewards.
Some funds stake for their shareholders. The Grayscale Ethereum Staking Mini ETF (NYSEARCA:ETH) stakes part of its ETH and distributed about 3.5 cents per share on September 4. The Grayscale Ethereum Staking ETF (NYSEARCA:ETHE) reports staking rewards of 2.7% before fees and 2.1% after.
BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (NASDAQ:ETHB) stakes up to 95% of its ETH. However, demand for Ethereum funds has dwindled, with U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs losing $365 million to net outflows from November 2 to 6.
Ethereum Staking Questions Investors Ask
How Much Can You Earn Staking Ethereum?
Staking yields about 2.4% to 2.5% a year at the network level, and less after provider or fund fees. So $10,000 earns less than the $300 a 3% rate would bring.
Is Staking ETH Safe?
The main risk is ETH’s price, which fell roughly 40% over the past year. Validators that break network rules also face slashing, which destroys part of their stake.
Can You Stake Ethereum Through an ETF?
Yes, Grayscale funds and ETHB pass staking rewards to shareholders after fees, so investors can participate without the 32 ETH minimum needed to run a validator. Some cryptocurrencies, like XRP, can’t be staked at all.
Is Staking ETH Still Worth It Against a 4.8% Treasury?
Staking can still make sense for those who plan to hold ETH for the long term, since the rewards come at no extra cost on coins they’d own anyway. For new money seeking regular income, the 10-year Treasury is the better option at 4.84%, and a live staking rate near 2.5% makes the gap wider than the headline suggests.
So staking ETH is still worth it as a small bonus for committed holders, while the Treasury remains the better income choice. If Treasury yields fall toward 4% while staking holds near 2.5%, the gap could narrow enough for Ethereum staking to compete.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.
