Ethereum Staking Queue Shrinks but 1.5 Million ETH Still Face 25-Day Wait
On October 5, approximately 1.5 million ETH, valued at around $4 billion, was stuck in Ethereum’s staking queue, facing a 25-day wait to enter. This marked an improvement from early September, when about 2 million ETH had to wait for 35 days. The queue persists due to Ethereum’s daily processing limit of roughly 57,600 ETH for validator entries and exits.
The exit queue was moving faster, with about 786,000 ETH, worth over $2 billion, waiting to leave the staking system and an estimated wait of nearly 14 days. The exit queue surged from 166,000 ETH on September 29 to 851,000 ETH by October 2, a more than fivefold increase in three days. This spike was partly attributed to MetaMask’s precautionary exit of validators following a security incident on September 30.
MetaMask’s investigation found no indication of wallet or customer fund compromise, but it took affected validators out of service. Ethereum researcher Kaden estimated that around 17,000 validators, holding roughly 523,000 ETH, were impacted. Lido, which pools users’ ETH for staking, expects the affected ETH to re-enter staking gradually, with the full process taking up to 45 days. The last affected MetaMask validators were expected to stop staking by October 7, adding to the entry queue.
Lido assured stETH holders that no action was required. The near-term queue could stabilize if the exit process slows and no additional large validator groups enter the system. However, further increases in exit requests or changes in daily processing limits could invalidate the 25-day entry estimate.