Ethereum Active Validators Drop to 863,000 as Staked Ether Reaches 43.7 Million

Ethereum's active validator count has dropped approximately 4.9% over the past month to around 863,000, even as total staked Ether climbed to roughly 43.7 million ETH, or about 35.8% of circulating supply. The divergence stems from the Pectra upgrade's EIP-7251, which raised the maximum effective balance per validator from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH. This change allows operators to consolidate balances without withdrawing funds, with Lido leading the shift by merging over 265,000 validators into roughly 4,000 larger entities to reduce network overhead.