Ethereum recorded its largest validator exit on record this week, with more than 2.4 million Ether worth over $10 billion awaiting withdrawal from its proof-of-stake network, but institutional participants are replacing much of that in the validator entry queue.
Ethereumโs exit queue surpassed 2.4 million Ether (ETH) worth over $10 billion on Wednesday. The spike in exits extended the validator queue time to more than 41 days and 21 hours, according to blockchain data from ValidatorQueue.com.
Validators are responsible for adding new blocks and verifying transactions on the Ethereum network, playing a critical role in its operation.
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$10 billion Ethereum exit queue raises sell pressure concerns
The surge in pending withdrawals has sparked renewed concern over potential sell pressure for Ether holders.
While this does not mean that all validators are looking to take profit, a significant amount of the $10 billion may be sold, considering that Etherโs price has risen 83% over the past year, according to Cointelegraphโs price index.
Adding to the concerns about selling pressure, the validator exit queue is about five times larger than the Ethereum entry queue, which currently holds over 490,000 Ether set to be staked, with a wait time of eight days and 12 hours.
While short-term selling pressure concerns persist, the $10 billion withdrawal does not threaten the Ethereum networkโs stability, which still boasts over 1 million active validators staking 35.6 million Ether, or 29.4% of the total supply.
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The development comes a day after Grayscale staked $150 million in Ether on Tuesday, following the crypto-focused asset managerโs introduction of staking for its Ether exchange-traded products, making it the first US-based crypto fund issuer to offer staking-based passive income for its funds.
On Wednesday, Grayscale deposited another 272,000 Ether worth $1.21 billion into the staking queue, meaning that the company accounts for โthe majority of coins currently awaiting staking activation,โ according to onchain analyst EmberCN.
Despite the ballooning validator exits, Etherโs momentum continues to be driven by institutional inflows via exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and corporate treasuries, Iliya Kalchev, dispatch analyst at digital asset platform Nexo, told Cointelegraph:
โInstitutional and corporate treasuries now hold over 10% of ETHโs total supply, while October ETF inflows have already exceeded $620 million.โ
โThe data reflect Ethereumโs evolution into a yield-bearing, institutionally recognized asset used both for infrastructure and collateral purposes,โ he added.
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