Ethereum’s staking queue has reversed its exit line for the first time in six months, with nearly twice as much ETH currently lined up for staking as is leaving the network.
According to the Ethereum Validator Queue on Blockchain Explorer, there is approximately 745,619 ETH in the validator entry queue, waiting for almost 13 days, while there is approximately 360,518 ETH in the exit line, waiting for 8 days.
The reversal occurred on December 27, when both lines had about 460,000 people, but some argue that since then the entry line has become vertical, while the exit line has trended towards zero.
Abdul, head of DeFi at layer 1 blockchain Monad, said in an X post on Sunday that the last time the entry and exit columns were swapped in June, Ether “doubled in price right after that” and predicted that “2026 will be a movie.”
Ether surpassed $2,800 in June. However, by August 24th, it hit a new all-time high of $4,946. As of Monday, it was trading at $3,018.
Ethereum’s staking queue has reversed its exit queue for the first time in six months. sauce: Ethereum validator queue
Ethereum is a proof-of-stake network that requires validators to stake assets to secure the network. Unstaking is seen as a sign that a validator is willing to release Ether for sale, while staking is seen as a sign of confidence to lock up Ether for long-term holding.
Validator exit queue can be zero
Abdul said in a previous Dec. 24 post that the exit queue is a leading indicator of predictable supply flows coming into the market through unstaking, which has been under selling pressure since July.
“We estimate that around 5% of the Ether supply has been exchanged since then, which explains Kiln’s unstaking in September. Around 70% of this unstaked ETH has been absorbed into Bitmine, which currently holds 3.4% of the ETH supply,” he said.
Staking service provider Kiln instigated an “orderly termination” of all Ether validators in September as a safety measure following abuses by digital asset investment platform SwissBorg.
“At the current rate, the validator exit queue will reach 0 on January 3rd. After that, we expect selling pressure on ETH to subside,” Abdul added.
Treasure trove of digital assets devours ether
Others in CryptoX, including Smart Economy Podcast host Dylan Grabowski, pointed to large digital asset treasury companies like Bitmine scooping up large amounts of ether as a possible cause for the change.
Related: Ethereum’s TVL could soar “10x” in 2026: Sharplink CEO
On Sunday, blockchain analysis tool Lookonchain reported that Bitmine had staked 342,560 ether, worth about $1 billion, in the past two days.
Meanwhile, Ignace, the pseudonymous co-founder of DeFi Creator Studio Pink Brains, speculated that this reversal was due to Pectra’s upgrades improving the staking user experience, “raising the maximum validator limit and making it easier to re-stake large balances.”
Ignas also speculated that “DeFi deleveraging when Aave borrowing rates rose and stETH loopers were forced to unwind” may have also contributed.
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