Just opened on-chain data and was shocked — as of August 27, the scale of Ethereum (ETH) full-stake withdrawal queue has skyrocketed to 285,000 ETH! At the current market price of $1750 per coin, this wave of ETH waiting to exit directly exceeds $5 billion in market value, a staggering 65% increase from a week ago, setting a historical record since the PoS merge in 2023.


What’s more worrying is that this wave of 'withdrawal tide' is still brewing: Glassnode data shows that in the past 7 days, the net outflow from the Ethereum staking pool has been negative for 5 consecutive days, with an average of over 30,000 ETH withdrawing applications per day, equivalent to about $52.5 million in funds 'escaping' the staking market each day.

First understand: Why does Ethereum staking withdrawal require 'queuing'? A simple rule explanation that even beginners can understand

Many new entrants may ask: 'Why do I have to queue to withdraw my staked ETH?' Here it is essential to clarify the core rules of the Ethereum PoS mechanism —


After the PoS merge, Ethereum staking is divided into 'partial withdrawal' (interest earnings) and 'full withdrawal' (principal + interest):

  • Partial withdrawal: Apply on the same day, generally credited on the same day, no queue;

  • Full withdrawal: Needs to enter the 'exit queue' because Ethereum has a fixed 'exit quota' (about 61,000 ETH) every day. The more applicants there are, the longer the waiting time.


Currently, the situation is: 285,000 ETH waiting to exit has already far exceeded the daily limit by more than 4 times. This means that investors initiating a full withdrawal now will have to wait at least 4 days to receive their funds — this is a conservative estimate; if the number of applicants continues to increase, the waiting time may exceed a week.
The largest exit tide in the history of Ethereum occurred in November 2023 (after the FTX collapse), when the peak queue was only 150,000 ETH, but this time it has nearly doubled, which clearly shows how strong the current cautious sentiment in the market is.

Behind the withdrawal of 5 billion ETH: 3 key reasons, not simply 'bearish'

Many people see 'exit' and think of 'selling', but a closer look at the data reveals that this wave of withdrawal is actually the result of multiple overlapping factors and cannot simply be categorized as 'bearish towards Ethereum':


  1. Taking profits: Early stakers 'cash in'
    From October 2023 to April 2024, ETH rose from $1500 to $2800, and many investors staked in the $1600-$1800 range, now earning 10%-20% returns. Recently, as the ETH price adjusted to around $1750, some chose to 'first withdraw interest + principal, and wait for a dip to buy back', which is a rational short-term operation.

  2. Declining staking yields: Attractiveness weakening
    As the total amount of staked ETH increases (now exceeding 28 million, accounting for 23% of the circulating supply), staking APR (annual yield) has dropped from 5.2% last year to the current 3.8%. For institutions seeking stable returns, this yield is now lower than some DeFi financial products or staking on other public chains, leading to choices to withdraw.

  3. Regulatory concerns: Some regions 'hit the brakes'
    Recently, the EU and some US states have tightened regulations on 'crypto asset staking', requiring exchanges and staking service providers to obtain compliance licenses; otherwise, they cannot provide services. For example, Coinbase in the US has recently suspended ETH staking services in some states, forcing users in these areas to withdraw, indirectly increasing the scale of the exit queue.

Is selling pressure really here? Will the coin price drop? 3 key signals to watch closely

The most concerning question for everyone: After the exit of 5 billion ETH, will it be directly dumped into the market, leading to a crash in ETH prices? In fact, there is no need for excessive panic; these 3 signals can help you judge the real pressure:


  1. Flow of funds after withdrawal: Is it 'selling coins' or 'transferring positions'?
    From on-chain data, currently about 60% of the withdrawn ETH has not directly entered exchanges (like Binance, OKX), but has been transferred to other wallets — this is likely investors 'switching staking service providers' (for example, moving from centralized exchanges to decentralized staking platforms like Lido, Rocket Pool), rather than actually wanting to sell coins. Only when the proportion of 'withdrawn ETH entering exchanges' exceeds 50% should we be wary of selling pressure.

  2. Support from buyers: Are institutions 'bottom-fishing'?
    Recently, institutions like Grayscale and Ark Fund have been increasing their ETH holdings: Grayscale's ETH Trust increased its holdings by 12,000 in the past week, and Ark Fund added 8,000. This indicates that institutions are 'buying on dips', and if the subsequent buying strength from institutions can keep up, even if there is some selling pressure, it will be difficult to cause significant impact on coin prices.

  3. Technical support: $1700 is the 'key defense line'
    From the daily chart of ETH, around $1700 has been a 'strong support level' for the past 3 months, having rebounded multiple times from that bottom. If the coin price can hold this position, it indicates that market sentiment is relatively stable; if it falls below $1700 and cannot quickly recover, it may trigger short-term panic selling.

What should ordinary investors do? 3 practical suggestions

  1. Do not blindly follow the trend to exit: If your ETH is staked for the long term (e.g., 1-2 years) and you do not care about short-term profit fluctuations, there is no need to exit now — after all, an APR of 3.8% is not high, but it is still better than a demand deposit, and subsequent upgrades to Ethereum (such as the Cancun upgrade) may improve staking yields.

  2. Choose compliant staking service providers: If you want to stake, prioritize well-regulated leading platforms (such as decentralized Lido or centralized Coinbase in compliant regions) and avoid small platforms — recently, 2 small staking service providers have gone bankrupt due to compliance issues, resulting in users' ETH being unable to be withdrawn, leading to total loss.

  3. Keep a close eye on the progress of the 'Cancun upgrade': The Ethereum Cancun upgrade (mainly optimizing Layer 2 fees and staking efficiency) is expected to start in November this year, and after the upgrade, it may attract more funds into the ETH ecosystem, boosting coin prices and staking demand. If you are optimistic about Ethereum's long-term development, you can wait until after the upgrade to decide whether to adjust your staking strategy.


Finally, I want to ask everyone: Do you think this wave of 5 billion ETH exits is a short-term fluctuation or a long-term trend? Follow Xiaoxun.#ETH 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥