$3.28B Ethereum Staking Exit Queue Sparks Longest Wait Times in Months—What’s Brewing?
Ethereum validators are hitting a wall—$3.28 billion worth of staked ETH is now stuck in the exit queue, marking the longest delay since the Shanghai upgrade. Is this a liquidity crunch or just growing pains?
Why the bottleneck? Surging demand meets protocol limits. With only 1,800 validators allowed to unstake daily, the backlog’s ballooned to a 45-day wait—unless you’re a whale who ‘accidentally’ jumps the line.
Finance jab: Traders who mocked ‘locked-up’ stakers now face their own prison—a queue longer than a Wall Street bonus meeting.
Bottom line: Ethereum’s staking economy is stress-testing its infrastructure. Bulls argue it’s a sign of robust participation; skeptics whisper ‘centralization risk.’ Either way, the chain’s got traffic jams worse than Manhattan at rush hour.
Ethereum Validators Queue (Source: validatorqueue.com)
CryptoSlate first highlighted this trend on July 21, when the withdrawal queue surpassed the entry queue. The backlog has remained elevated ever since.
As of press time, 698,575 ETH (roughly $3.28 billion) are queued for withdrawal, while only 105,000 ETH, valued at about $472 million, are currently entering the network.
What is driving staked ETH withdrawals?
DeFi analyst Ignas pointed out that the most recent withdrawals are concentrated among the top three liquid staking token (LST) providers, including Lido, EtherFi, and Coinbase. These platforms allow users to stake ETH while retaining liquidity through derivative tokens.
Considering this, he attributed the surge in withdrawals from these platforms to unwinding Leveraged ETH positions to capture higher yields.
Meanwhile, he also noted that a widening stETH/ETH depeg may be influencing validator behavior, alongside large positions being taken in anticipation of upcoming ETH staking ETFs.
In addition, profit-taking could be another factor behind the exit wave. Long-term stakers may be taking advantage of Ethereum’s recent price rally to withdraw funds from the staking program and realize gains.
