Ethereum Validators Forced to Wait Days to Unstake Amid Celsius Withdraws
Ethereum validators are experiencing delays of several days to withdraw their staked ether (ETH) due to a cap on the number of validators that can unstake their tokens daily. The exit queue for Ethereum validators surged to over 16,000, representing more than $1 billion worth of staked ETH. The backlog could result in a wait of up to 5.6 days for the ETH to be returned to depositors. The crypto lender Celsius, which filed for bankruptcy in 2022 and is currently restructuring, is believed to be responsible for the delays. Celsius announced that significant unstaking activity would unlock ETH for distributions to creditors. Blockchain analytics firm Nansen reported that 32% of all ETH awaiting withdrawal has been requested by Celsius, and 54.7% is from Figment, a staking service used by Celsius.
