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#EthStakingExitQueueHits2026High Ethereum Staking Exit Queue Hits 2026 High Ethereum’s staking exit queue has surged to its highest level of 2026, with roughly 786,000 ETH, worth more than $2 billion, waiting to leave the validator system. The queue reached about 851,000 ETH on October 2, after rising more than fivefold from roughly 166,000 ETH on September 29. � CoinDesk +1 A major factor behind the increase appears to be MetaMask’s precautionary withdrawal of validators following a security incident. Estimates suggest the affected validators represented roughly 523,000 ETH, although MetaMask has not confirmed that figure. � Binance +1 Ethereum’s protocol limits how quickly validators can exit, meaning the backlog has pushed the estimated waiting period to nearly two weeks. The exit queue represents around 2% of all staked ETH. � ForkLog +1 At the same time, the staking entry queue has fallen to about 1.5 million ETH, down from roughly 2 million ETH in early September. This suggests that demand for new staking has moderated even as the exit queue temporarily spikes. � Binance Overall, the record exit queue does not necessarily signal broad bearish sentiment toward Ethereum. Much of the surge appears connected to the MetaMask-related validator withdrawals, and Lido expects affected ETH to potentially return to staking after the validators complete the exit process. �$NVDAB $AAPLB