Ethereum’s staking market has shifted sharply, with the validator exit queue dropping to zero for the first time since mid-2025. At the same time, demand to stake has surged, pushing the entry queue to multi-year highs and stretching activation delays.
The move is unfolding alongside stronger network participation, including a jump in new addresses and record daily transactions. Analysts tracking these indicators say the changes point to firmer structural support for Ether (ETH), even while the token trades below its prior peak.
Data from the Ethereum Validator Queue shows the staking exit queue has fallen from a September 2025 peak of roughly 2.67 million ETH to 0 ETH. Meanwhile, the entry queue has risen more than fivefold over the past month to about 2.6 million ETH.
The imbalance has pushed estimated entry wait times to around 45 days. However, validators seeking to exit are being processed within minutes, reflecting faster withdrawal processing.
Figures cited from ValidatorQueue show approximately 2,596,246 ETH is queued for staking, valued at about $8.61 billion. In addition, the activation delay is estimated at 45 days and 2 hours.
Analysts said the queue reversal signals a clear shift in staking intent. Still, the core friction now sits with activation, not exits.
Market participants said the reversal points to strengthening supply dynamics for ETH. More tokens are being committed to staking rather than remaining liquid.
Leon Waitmann, head of research at Onchain Foundation, said the swelling entry backlog could lift Ethereum’s staking rate once queued validators go live. “Once the entry queue converts into active validators, the staking rate moves higher and pushes toward new all-time highs,” Waitmann said on Monday.
He added that the setup looks bullish for the coming months. Ethereum staking yields are around 2.8% annualized, supporting demand for yield-focused holders.
Institutional demand has been cited as a major driver of inflows. BitMine Immersion Technologies, chaired by Tom Lee, has staked more than 1.25 million ETH, described as over a third of its total ETH holdings.
Broader supply measures also show deeper lockups. Santiment reported that more than 46.5% of Ethereum’s total supply, about 77.85 million ETH, sits in the proof-of-stake (PoS) deposit contract, valued at roughly $256 billion at current prices.
Meanwhile, Beaconcha.in shows total staked ETH at around 36.1 million, representing close to 29% of the circulating supply. The measures differ, yet both point to rising staking participation.
Staking trends are not the only metrics moving higher. Glassnode indicates that activity retention among recent entrants has nearly doubled over the past month.
The same update cited a sharp rise in first-time interacting addresses. New active addresses climbed from just over 4 million to around 8 million in a single month.
Broader activity measures suggest sustained momentum. Etherscan shows that daily transactions recently hit a record 2.8 million, up roughly 125% from last year.
Analysts linked the trend to lower fees and growing stablecoin usage. In addition, Ethereum’s shift toward layer-2 execution, while retaining settlement on the main chain, has been tied to rising throughput.
Last week, Vitalik Buterin said the Ethereum network has solved the blockchain trilemma. The statement was framed as a milestone long viewed as difficult to achieve.
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Despite the surge in staking participation, ETH remains below its prior peak. CoinGecko data indicates ETH price at about $3,300, which is below its all-time high of $4,946 set on Aug. 4, 2025.
Still, analysts said the cleared exit queue and swelling entry demand underscore a structural shift. They added that the trend could support prices if the current staking momentum holds.
The next phase hinges on activation, with entry wait times near 45 days. If queued validators convert at scale, staking participation could rise further, keeping more ETH locked as market participants monitor whether the pattern persists.