Ethereum prices dropped after reaching near record highs last week, with analysts warning that the increase in unsecured tokens could impact the market later.
The leading cryptocurrency's value rose from $3,698 at the beginning of August to $4,788 last Thursday, its highest level in four years. However, by 9 AM GMT on Monday, it had dropped to $4,260, a decrease of 10% after nearly a 30% rise over two weeks.
Increased ETH unstaking wait time from 25 to 40 days
Strong gains stimulated intense activity to unlock crypto. On August 9 alone, on-chain data provider Rated reported that the Ethereum withdrawal queue was so busy that processing times stretched to about 25 days.
The unlocking process involves two main steps: the exit queue and the withdrawal queue. The exit queue is when the validator requests to leave their position on the network. The withdrawal queue is the next step, where the unlocked Ethereum is returned to the user's wallet. Typically, the unlocking process takes only two or three days.
The waiting list continued to increase. This delay reflects the growing number of validators seeking to sell their Ethereum at a higher price.
Influencer @notgrubles noted that the Ethereum validator queue doubled to $3.7 billion in four days. As of August 18, Rated data showed that over 1.07 billion Ethereum are waiting for release, increasing processing time to 40 days. In contrast, locking new Ethereum takes less than five days.
Unstaking requests began to accelerate around August 6, meaning some tokens may reach user wallets by August 25. Analysts warn that prices could drop further if buyers fail to absorb the new supply.
However, some market watchers see a balance between inflows and outflows. Influencer @0xCryptoSam stated that although the net outflow of 600,000 Ethereum is still significant, the market has experienced similar conditions before. On July 26, a similar delay preceded a 20% rise over the following two weeks.
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