Ethereum's institutional data hub showed about $120 billion in staked ETH and $40.4 billion in daily average total value locked on layer-2 (L2) networks in a Sept. 21 snapshot.

They measure different things: ETH committed to network security and assets held across L2 networks, so adding them together would not measure fresh ETH demand.

Meanwhile, US-traded Ethereum ETF sessions saw over $140 million in net outflows from Sept. 15 to 18. Large pools of staked ETH and assets on Ethereum-linked networks can coexist with investors pulling money from a particular investment channel.

Staking involves depositing ETH to activate validators, which help secure Ethereum and earn rewards.

An owner can stake ETH already held, resulting in staking participation. Yet, they could also acquire ETH specifically to stake it, so the result is not necessarily fresh demand in all cases.

A staking balance expressed in dollars reflects both the ETH committed and its valuation, so it should not be read as the amount of new capital investors supplied during a particular day or week.

Liquid staking tokens can represent deposited ETH and allow holders to transfer that exposure. The underlying stake remains committed to validation, while the holder may retain a route to liquidity.

For investors, the key question is how much ETH was acquired before being staked. Farside Investors' Ethereum ETF table provides a dated view of one investment channel.