Ethereum staking exits surge after MetaMask security incident
Ethereum's staking exit queue reached its longest point of 2026 after MetaMask initiated a wave of validator withdrawals following a security incident. The queue surged more than fivefold in just three days, peaking at approximately 851,000 ETH on October 2. As of Monday, about 786,000 ETH, valued at over $2 billion, remained in the exit line with an estimated wait time of nearly 14 days.
The sudden spike was triggered by MetaMask's decision to withdraw validators as a precautionary measure after a security issue affected part of its infrastructure. Although MetaMask assured users that no wallets or customer funds were compromised, the withdrawals created a significant backlog due to Ethereum's limits on validator exits. The network restricts daily exits to about 57,600 ETH, causing delays when large numbers of validators leave simultaneously.
Lido, the staking service provider affected by the withdrawals, expects the process to take up to 45 days. During this time, validators will miss out on rewards, and the ether will gradually be restaked. Lido emphasized that no action is required from stETH holders, referring to the token representing users' stake in the service. Meanwhile, demand to start staking has been cooling, with about 1.5 million ETH waiting to enter the system as of Monday.
MetaMask has not confirmed the exact number of validators or ETH involved, but estimates suggest roughly 17,000 validators holding about 523,000 ETH were affected. The company expects the last affected validators to stop staking by October 7, after which their coins will rejoin the staking queue.