What is the latest on the Ethereum staking queue?

The amount of assets waiting to enter Ethereum staking stood at about 1.5 million ETH as of Monday. That is worth roughly $4 billion at market prices, while the estimated waiting time to join the network has fallen to about 25 days.

The data point to some easing in the queue compared with early September. At that time, around 2 million ETH were waiting and the estimated delay was about 35 days. The figures suggest that the pace of demand to begin staking has cooled somewhat.

MetaMask is behind much of the increase in the queue

Most of the latest spike is said to be linked to MetaMask. Best known as a crypto wallet provider, the company also runs a Lido validator and plays a role in facilitating pooled staking for users who deposit ether.

On September 30, MetaMask disclosed a security incident and began taking affected validators offline. In its October 1 update, the company said it had found no evidence that wallets or customer funds were impacted.

Ethereum security researcher Kaden estimated that the precautionary exits covered about 17,000 validators and 523,000 ETH. However, those figures have not been confirmed by MetaMask.

Lido sees the process as temporary, while rewards pause

Lido views most of the congestion in the exit queue as a temporary deviation tied to a single operator. According to the platform, ether will gradually return to the system once the affected validators leave the network, balances are withdrawn and the assets are re-entered into the staking process.

The full process could take as long as 45 days. During that time, the offline validators will not earn rewards; however, Lido says stETH holders do not need to take any additional action for now.

  • Staking entry queue: about 1.5 million ETH
  • Estimated waiting time: about 25 days
  • Early September level: 2 million ETH and 35 days
  • Possible total recovery time: up to 45 days