The queue reached roughly 851,000 ETH on Oct. 2 after MetaMask, a cryptocurrency wallet provider that also runs staking services, began withdrawing validators as a precaution following a security incident affecting part of its infrastructure
About 166,000 ETH was waiting to exit on Sept. 29, per a CoinDesk analysis of the data. By Oct. 2 that had climbed to roughly 851,000 ETH, about 2% of the 43.6 million ETH staked and well above the roughly 476,000 ETH reached during a surge in May
About 786,000 ETH, worth just over $2 billion, was still waiting as of Monday Asian morning, with an estimated wait of nearly 14 days
Staking lets holders earn rewards by committing ether to validators, the computers that check Ethereum transactions. The network limits how quickly validators can join or leave to prevent sudden changes to its security
At current limits, about 57,600 ETH can enter and about 57,600 ETH can exit each day, so large moves build up as queues. Coins that leave then go through a separate withdrawal process before they reach their owners' wallets
Most of the jump in withdrawals has come from MetaMask. The company, best known for its cryptocurrency wallet, also runs validators for Lido, a service that pools users' ether for staking. At the time, Ethereum security researcher Kaden estimated the precautionary exits covered roughly 17,000 validators holding about 523,000 ETH, figures MetaMask has not confirmed
MetaMask disclosed a security incident on Sept. 30 and began taking affected validators out of service. An Oct. 1 update said its investigation had found no indication that wallets or customer funds had been affected
That makes most of the exit queue a temporary detour for one operator's coins. Lido expects the ether to return gradually as the affected validators leave, their balances are withdrawn and the coins enter staking again. It estimated the whole process could take up to about 45 days, with affected validators missing rewards while they are out of service
"No action is required from stETH holders," Lido said last week, referring to the token that represents users' stake in the service
Lido expects the last affected MetaMask validators to stop staking by Oct. 7, after which their coins join the queue to start staking again
In the meantime, demand to start staking has been cooling separately. About 1.5 million ETH, worth roughly $4 billion, was waiting to enter on Monday, with an estimated wait of roughly 25 days, down from about 2 million ETH and a wait of about 35 days in early September
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