Ethereum Validators Forced to Wait Days to Unstake Amid Celsius Withdraws

Ethereum’s
validators
are
stuck
waiting
several
days
to
withdraw
their
staked
ether
(ETH),
and
the
defunct
crypto
lender
Celsius
may
be
partially
to
blame
for
the
backlog.

Validators

stake
ETH
to
help
secure
the
Ethereum
network
in
exchange
for
a
steady
rate
of
interest,
but
there
is
a
cap
to
the
number
of
validators
that
can
unstake
their
tokens
on
any
given
day,
hence
the
present
backlog.

The
exit
queue
for
Ethereum
validators
spiked
to
over
16,000
on
Friday,
while
it
was
just
at
26
the
previous
day,
according

to
blockchain
data
from

validatorqueue.com.
The
queue
represents
more
than
$1
billion
worth
of
staked
ETH
at
current
prices,
but
the
large
backlog
means
it
could
take
up
to
5.6
days
for
that
ETH
to
get
back
into
the
hands
of
its
depositors.

Celsius,
the
crypto
lender
that
filed
for
bankruptcy
in
2022
and
is
now

in
the
process
of
restructuring,
seems
to
be
responsible
for
the
present
delays.

Celsius
shared
on
Thursday
on
X,
formerly
Twitter,
that
the
“significant
unstaking
activity
in
the
next
few
days
will
unlock
ETH
to
ensure
timely
distributions
to
creditors.”

According
to

blockchain
analytics
firm
Nansen,
32%
of
all
ETH
waiting
to
be
withdrawn
has
been
requested
by
Celsius,
while
54.7%
is
from
Figment,
a
staking
service
that
Celsius

reportedly
uses.

Ethereum
has
previously
seen
longer
lines.
In
April,
Ethereum
validators
had
to
wait
upwards
of

17
days
to
get
their
staked
ETH
back
following
the
blockchain’s

Shapella
upgrade,
which
enabled
staked
ETH
withdraws
for
the
first
time.
At
the
time,
some
28,000
validators
were
in
line
to
leave
the
network
at
one
point.

Since
then,
the
requests
for
exiting
the
blockchain
diminished
tremendously,
and
by
the
end
of
May,
it
took
less
than
a
day
for
a
validator
to
leave
the
network,
according

to
blockchain
data
dashboard

validatorqueue.com.

Read
more:



Celsius
to
Unstake
Thousands
of
Ether,
Possibly
Easing
ETH
Selling
Pressure