Key takeaways:
Ether queued for unstaking hits a record $12 billion, with a 44-day wait time.
Strategic reserves and ETF holdings have jumped by 116% since July 1, allaying fears of a potential ETH sell-off.
The amount of Ether ( ETH ) in the queue waiting to be unstaked has surged to its highest level, as investors may be looking to cash in on yearly profits.
Ether’s exit queue hits record $12B ETH
Ethereum’s exit queue surpassed 2.6 million ETH worth $12 billion last week, with a 44-day wait time.
This marked the largest amount of Ether ever 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 securing the Ethereum blockchain .
Related: How high can Ethereum price go after Fed rate cut?
Data from ValidatorQueue noted that the number of active validators was above 1.05 million, with 29.4% of the total ETH supply staked, i.e., around 35.6 million ETH.
“Ethereum staking exit queue goes parabolic,” macro analyst MartyPary commented on the largest validator exodus in crypto history.
While this does not mean that all the validators are looking to sell their holdings, a significant portion of the over $12 billion may be offloaded to lock in profits, notably as the Ether price has risen 97% over the past 12 months.
“The Ethereum exit queue is at a record high, with huge amounts of $ETH now waiting to exit staking,” said crypto YouTuber Lark Davis in an X post, adding:
“Heavy sell pressure incoming.”
Meanwhile, the Ethereum staking entry queue reached its lowest level in four weeks, adding to fears that a surge in the exit queue could lead to a major sell-off.
More than 512,755 ETH, worth around $2.3 billion, were waiting to be staked at the time of writing, down from 959,717 ETH on Sept. 5, indicating a slowdown in demand for staking Ether.
Strong institutional demand allays ETF sell-off fears
Increasing accumulation and buying strength from Ether treasury companies and spot ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are absorbing much of the selling pressure.
Data from highlights that collective holdings of strategic reserves and ETFs have surged 116% since July 1, climbing to 11,762,594 ETH from 5,445,458 ETH.
The sharp increase underscores a swift influx of Ether supply into the hands of major institutional and corporate players.
The majority of these entities have or will stake the asset for additional yields for their strategies, which may boost the entry queue in the coming weeks.
Another bullish narrative is tied to the potential launch of ETH staking ETFs . This implies that some investors may be freeing up liquidity to re-enter these products later, effectively reshuffling their exposure without exiting the ETH market.
While the SEC’s final deadline for approval is set for April 2026, popular analyst Axel Bitblaze said the green light could come much sooner, possibly as early as October 2025.
“I know we have been waiting for the ETH ETFs approval, but now it’s only a matter of time,” the analyst wrote in a Tuesday X post, adding:
“BlackRock's ETH staking approval next deadline is in October, and I think the approval will most likely happen.”
Capital continued to flow into crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs ) last week, with Ethereum investment products attracting $646 million in inflows, marking a return of institutional investor appetite for ETH .
