Well, here’s something you don’t see every day. The line to stake Ether has gotten incredibly long, the longest it’s been since last year. It seems a lot of big players and corporate funds are looking to earn a bit extra on their holdings, and they’re all trying to get in at once.
On Tuesday, the data was pretty clear. There were over 860,000 ETH waiting in the staking entry queue. That’s a stack of crypto worth roughly $3.7 billion. It’s a significant number, and it definitely makes you stop and take notice.
A Sign of Growing Confidence
The staking firm Everstake pointed out that this is a striking change. We haven’t seen queues like this since the Shanghai upgrade back in 2023, which first let people withdraw their staked coins. So what’s driving it now?
Perhaps it comes down to a few things. There seems to be more trust in the network’s stability and its future. More people appear to believe in Ethereum’s long-term value and want to help keep it secure. And then there are the market conditions themselves. Ether’s price has been strong, and transaction fees are low for the moment, which makes the whole process of staking a lot more appealing and less costly.
Institutions Are Joining the Fray
It’s not just individual users, either. There’s been a noticeable uptick in interest from institutions. More companies and investment funds are getting involved, and they’re bringing much larger sums of money with them. That volume is a major contributor to the backlog we’re seeing now.
But this surge in people wanting to stake their Ether might actually be a good thing. It helps calm some recent worries.
Exit Queue Fears Subside
Not long ago, there was a lot of talk about the exit queue—the line of people waiting to unstake their ETH—reaching a record high. People were nervous it could lead to a big sell-off, especially after Ether hit its all-time high in late August.
That exit queue has actually pulled back quite a bit since then, dropping about 20% from its peak. The lines to get in and get out are almost the same length now, which suggests the rush to unstake and potentially sell is slowing down. For now, anyway.
Overall, the network has over 35 million ETH staked. That’s about a third of all the Ether that exists, which is a massive amount of value locked up and helping to run the blockchain.
And corporate treasuries? They’re still accumulating. Data shows these entities now hold nearly 4% of the entire Ether supply. Most of them are staking it, or plan to, for that extra yield. That strategy is a key reason the entry line is so long.
As for the price, Ether has dipped a bit again today, sitting around $4,321. It’s down over 12% from its peak, as some smaller traders decided to take their profits off the table.
