Ethereum unstaking queue surges 392% since October start

Ethereum unstaking has jumped 392% since the start of October, according to data circulated on X. By October 2, roughly 850,000 ETH was lined up to leave the network’s validator set.

That is the longest exit line Ethereum has seen all year. It happened in the same week that MetaMask Staking told users part of its infrastructure had been compromised.

What is driving the exit line

By October 2, the estimated wait to exit had reached about 14.77 days. In late September, exits had been sitting in the low-to-mid 100,000s ETH range.

The queue sat at approximately 850,000 to 850,736 ETH at its peak. Total staked ETH stood at roughly 43.6 million across about 878,000 active validators. The pending exits therefore represented close to 2% of all staked supply.

The MetaMask Staking incident

On September 30, MetaMask Staking disclosed a compromise of its infrastructure. Block rewards of about 0.36 ETH across 18 blocks were briefly diverted. MetaMask said no user wallets or sensitive data were affected.

MetaMask moved to exit nearly 17,000 validators holding approximately 523,000 ETH, a significant share of which was tied to Lido’s operations. The exits were framed as a precaution and were expected to finish by October 7.

Of the roughly 850,000 ETH waiting to exit, approximately 523,000 ETH came from MetaMask’s validators alone.

Not all of it is caution

Jiang Zhuoer, founder of an LTC mining pool, said the jump in the queue suggested some holders were taking advantage of current prices to lock in profits.

The price barely moved

ETH traded in a narrow band between $2,686 and $2,725 from September 30 to October 2. With waits near 14.77 days, any selling is spread over time rather than hitting the market in one burst.

What this means for stakers and the market

MetaMask’s exits were expected to finish by October 7. Once they clear, the queue should shrink noticeably unless fresh exits replace them.

With a significant portion of the exiting stake tied to Lido’s operations, the event highlights how decisions by one infrastructure partner can affect a much larger pool of staked ETH.

Roughly 43.6 million ETH is still staked across about 878,000 validators. Even at its peak, the exit queue was a small slice of that total.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.