Ethereum exit queue hits record $5B ETH, raising sell pressure concerns

Ethereum is seeing the largest validator exodus in crypto history, with over 1 million Ether tokens currently waiting to be withdrawn from staking through Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) network.

Ethereum’s exit queue surpassed 1 million Ether worth $4.96 billion on Thursday. This marks the amount of Ether set for withdrawal by the network’s validators, who are responsible for adding new blocks and verifying transactions in proposed blocks, playing a vital role in the functioning of the blockchain network.

The mass exodus has extended the validator exit waiting time to a record 18 days and 16 hours, according to blockchain data from validatorque.

While this does not mean that all the validators are looking to sell their holdings, a significant portion of the almost $5 billion may be sold to lock in profits, considering that Ether has risen 72% over the past three months.

“The exit queue hitting 1 million ETH reflects healthy market dynamics rather than a cause for concern,” Marcin Kazmierczak, co-founder of RedStone blockchain oracle firm, told Cointelegraph, adding:

“What’s crucial to understand is that these exits pale in comparison to the institutional capital flowing into Ethereum.”

The “unprecedented demand” from public vehicles such as treasury firms and exchange-traded funds means that the validator sales are “easily absorbed by this institutional appetite,” he said.

Ether remains the ‘liquidity magnet’ of the crypto market: analyst

Ether remains the “liquidity magnet” of the crypto industry, with Ether futures open interest nearing $33 billion, signaling solid institutional interest, according to Iliya Kalchev, dispatch analyst at digital asset platform Nexo.

“Standard Chartered reiterated that ETH and ETH-treasury firms remain undervalued even at these levels, projecting a $7,500 year-end target,” said the analyst, adding:

“Combined with Polymarket odds now pricing a 26% chance of ETH reaching $5,000 this month, Ethereum’s role as the market’s liquidity magnet is hard to ignore.”

Ether “looks primed to test $5,000,” said the analyst, adding that investor demand may be shaped by Thursday’s release of the US initial jobless claims report, along with Friday’s release of the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index (PCE), the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.

In contrast to the 1 million Ether set to exit the network, only 737,000 Ether are awaiting being staked in the entry queue, with an average wait time of 12 days and 19 hours.

Still, the network remains stable with over 1 million active validators and 35.6 million Ether, representing over 29.4% of the total supply.