ETH treasury firms lean on staking revenue as losses hit $1.4 billion

Key Takeaways:

Staking generated 60% of disclosed revenue for ETH treasury firms in 2025
Combined net losses across 15 companies reached $1.41 billion
BitMine Immersion reported a separate $9.02 billion loss over six months

Staking accounted for 60% of disclosed revenue across 15 publicly listed Ethereum treasury firms in 2025, even as the cohort booked a combined $1.41 billion in net losses, according to a study from staking provider Everstake released Tuesday.

"Revenue is now being generated primarily from actively deployed assets rather than idle holdings," Bohdan Opryshko, co-founder and chief operating officer at Everstake, said. "Those that actively deploy capital are setting the new standard."

Bit Digital reported $7 million in ETH staking rewards for 2025, up 287% year over year, while Sharplink Inc posted a $734.6 million net loss on $28.1 million in revenue. Bit Digital recorded an $80.3 million net loss against $113.6 million in revenue, and BTCS Inc logged a $33.4 million net loss on $16.5 million in revenue. BitMine Immersion Technologies booked a $9.02 billion net loss across the six months ending Feb. 28.

The findings underscore a structural shift for digital asset treasury firms, which historically offered the only regulated path to crypto exposure for public-market investors. Spot ETH exchange-traded funds have since stripped that monopoly, leaving yield generation as a key differentiator. Everstake's study, based on regulatory filings through May 2026, found that many digital asset treasury stocks now trade at a discount to their crypto holdings, suggesting investors are less willing to pay a premium for passive exposure alone.

Staking Strategies Expand Beyond Protocol Rewards

Opryshko said deployment is no longer limited to standard protocol staking. Firms are increasingly turning to liquid staking, integration into DeFi lending markets on Ethereum, and advanced validator-level strategies such as optimized block construction and maximal extractable value capture.

The yield uplift arrives as Ethereum's price decline compounds balance-sheet pressure. ETH has fallen more than 57% from its 2025 peak near $4,955, trading at $2,128 as of Wednesday. BitMine, led by Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, holds approximately 5.28 million ETH — nearly 4.4% of Ethereum's total circulating supply — and is sitting on roughly $7.8 billion in unrealized losses based on an estimated average purchase price near $3,513.

JPMorgan analysts warned that ETH and the broader altcoin market may struggle to catch up with Bitcoin without a meaningful recovery in network activity, DeFi adoption, and real-world use cases, noting that ETH has been lagging since October 2025 in both price and flows.

Whether passive accumulators can survive a repriced market remains an open question. Everstake's study concluded that staking "has become a structural floor for all digital asset treasury firms seeking to remain relevant in 2026 and beyond."

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.