Ethereum Exit Queue Surges 392% Amid MetaMask Hack Fallout

In early October, Ethereum's validator exit queue experienced a surge of approximately 392%, peaking at nearly 850,000 ETH. This significant increase is largely attributed to precautionary withdrawals of around 523,000 ETH by MetaMask Staking following an infrastructure breach.

The MetaMask hack occurred on September 30, with the company disclosing that its infrastructure had been compromised. The incident resulted in approximately 0.36 ETH in block rewards being temporarily diverted over 18 blocks. To mitigate potential risks, MetaMask initiated exits for nearly 17,000 validators holding a combined ~523,000 ETH, with a significant portion tied to Lido operations.

The estimated wait time for these withdrawals reached approximately 14.77 days by October 2, with the total staked ETH across the network standing at around 43.6 million. The pending exit volume approaches 2% of total staked supply.

Jiang Zhuoer, founder of Litepool, noted that the spike in the queue suggests some holders are using current prices to lock in profits. Despite this, the prices of ETH remained largely unchanged between September 30 and October 2, trading in a narrow band between $2,686 and $2,725.