Ether declined more than 7% from its 2025 peak as the backlog for validators and investors to unstake the asset reached an 18-month high on Wednesday.
Ethereum operates on a proof-of-stake model necessitating validators to stake the asset and secure funds to maintain the network’s integrity.
Validators wishing to exit Ethereum’s staking framework must navigate a validator exit queue, “and in recent days, the figures have surged dramatically,” staking protocol Everstake announced on Wednesday.
Currently, there are 644,330 ETH, valued at approximately $2.34 billion, queued to exit, with an 11-day wait, according to ValidatorQueue. A comparable increase in the exit queue occurred in January 2024 when ETH prices dropped by 15% in the latter part of the month.
Unstaking could indicate that validators seek to release the asset for sale, although that isn’t invariably the case.
Everstake remarked that this was not a sign of fear or disintegration, but rather a “transition,” suggesting that validators are likely exiting to “restake, optimize or rotate operators, not abandoning Ethereum.”
They further noted that investors and holders may also aim to secure profits, “as it’s reasonable to presume that some stakers are gearing up to sell, which could induce short-term sell pressure and possibly result in a price correction.”
Profit-taking or repositioning?
Despite the noticeable exodus, there is also 390,000 ETH valued at about $1.2 billion in the entry queue, indicating that the net amount being unstaked is merely around 255,000 ETH.
Moreover, the entry queue has substantially grown since early June, coinciding with Ether treasury firms like SharpLink and Bitmine starting to aggressively acquire the asset. Most corporate strategy entities have indicated they will stake ETH for additional yields.
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The active validator count is also at a record high of just under 1.1 million, as is the amount staked, at approximately 35.7 million ETH, or nearly 30% of the total supply, valued around $130 billion.
Ether price declines from 2025 peak
The asset has retreated about 7% from its seven-month high of $3,844, which it reached on Monday, dropping below $3,550 in late trading on Wednesday as traders realize profits.
ETH prices had slightly rebounded to $3,643 at the time of this writing and continue to remain over 50% higher than the previous month.
A substantial demand has also arisen from US spot Ether ETFs, which have experienced over $2.5 billion in inflows during the last six trading days, even in the absence of a staking ETF approval.
“We’ve recorded $8 billion in net inflows via DeFi bridges into Ethereum mainnet over the last three months alongside a significant spike in Ethereum ETF inflows, despite BTC ETF witnessing outflows,” Apollo Capital’s chief investment officer, Henrik Andersson, informed Cointelegraph.
“This showcases interest from on-chain natives and institutions,” he added.
Lido liquid staking token temporarily depegs
Tron founder Justin Sun also recently withdrew around $600 million worth of ETH from the Aave DeFi lending platform, resulting in a brief depeg of stETH (STETH), Lido’s liquid staking token, and a sharp decline in liquidity on Aave.
This may have contributed to the exit queue, as frantic yield farmers attempted to convert stETH back to ETH or sell it in secondary markets, noted Marcin Kazmierczak, co-founder at RedStone staking platform.
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