that much Ethereum ETH
-0.18%
On blockchains, the number of validators waiting to withdraw their staked Ether is rapidly increasing. The exit queue reportedly reached 16,000 people. Data from ValidatorQueue. The queue represents over 510,000 ETH ($1.1 billion), with a maximum validator stake of 32 ETH per validator.
The processing time to complete the exit queue is 5 days, with a total withdrawal period of at least 14 days.
This comes as Celsius, which is in the process of restructuring after filing for bankruptcy protection last year, shared plans to cancel its stake in the Ethereum network to distribute assets to creditors.
Chelsea’s withdrawal request of over 200,000 ETH ($450 million) caused the validator exit queue to rise. But it seems it’s not just Celsius. According to Nansen data, only 32% of exits are in Celsius. 54% (350,000 ETH) of validators awaiting withdrawal are connected to staking provider Figment.
Tom Wan, an analyst at 21 Shares, thinks companies tagged with Figment could also belong to Chelsea. “Also, Figment’s departure is likely to be owned by Chelsea. In early June, Chelsea re-staked 197,000 ETH through Figment when she redeemed 428,000 stETH from Lido.” Wan said.. Still, not all of Figment’s withdrawals were due to Celsius, Nansen said.
According to The Block dashboard, there is currently a total of 29 million ETH staked on the network. This means that these withdrawals (about 500,000 ETH) represent about 1.7% of the total stake.
Staking Yield
Despite the surge in validators lining the exit queue, the entry queue for new validators remained close to zero, mirroring the levels observed over the past week. The time it takes to complete the exit and entry queues is based on the exit limit (13 validators per epoch) or the daily limit of 2,925 validators entering or exiting the network.
The staking yield for Ethereum validators, also known as the staking reward reference rate, is currently around 3.4%. These figures represent a decline from returns of close to 8% recorded in May 2023.
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