MetaMask Validator Exits Cause Longest Ethereum Withdrawal Queue of 2026

Ethereum stakers are facing an unusually long withdrawal wait after MetaMask's precautionary validator exits. As of Monday morning in Asia, the exit queue stretched to nearly 14 days, the longest of 2026. The surge began last week when the queue grew more than five times in just three days, from about 166,000 ETH on Sept. 29 to roughly 851,000 ETH by Oct. 2, with ETH trading at $2,719.38 at the time.

The bottleneck was triggered by MetaMask, which paused some of its validators as a precaution following a security incident on Sept. 30. The company later confirmed that no customer funds were affected, but the withdrawals created a significant backlog. Ethereum researcher Kaden estimated the exits involved roughly 17,000 validators holding about 523,000 ETH, though MetaMask has not officially confirmed these numbers.

Ethereum's design intentionally includes a withdrawal queue to maintain network security. The system limits validator exits to about 57,600 ETH per day, creating delays when large withdrawals occur. By Monday, the exit queue had slightly shrunk to about 786,000 ETH, worth just over $2 billion. The affected validators are expected to resume staking by Oct. 7, but the entire process could take up to 45 days.

Meanwhile, demand to start staking has cooled. The entry queue held about 1.5 million ETH on Monday, down from 2 million ETH in early September. Lido, the staking service affected by MetaMask's exits, reassured users that no action is required from stETH holders, as the returned coins will eventually re-enter the staking pool.