The embattled crypto lender has deposited $745 million of ETH to staking contracts in the last two days, significantly stressing the already-long waiting time to deploy new validators to the Ethereum network

Embattled crypto lender Celsius Network is shaking up its ether (ETH) staking strategy, congesting the already month-long queue to activate new validators on the Ethereum network.

Over the course of two days, the firm has been diligently moving ETH into staking contracts after redeeming some $813 million of staked ETH from liquid staking leader Lido Finance. Since June 1, Celsius has deposited some $745 million of ETH, data by Arkham Intelligence shows.

The transfers have stretched the already long queue to establish new validators on the Ethereum network to 44 days, with Celsius potentially responsible for almost a week of extra time, Tom Wan, analyst at crypto investment product manager 21Shares noted.

Embattled crypto lender Celsius Network is shaking up its ether (ETH) staking strategy, congesting the already month-long queue to activate new validators on the Ethereum network.Over the course of two days, the firm has been diligently moving ETH into staking contracts after redeeming some $813 million of staked ETH from liquid staking leader Lido Finance. Since June 1, Celsius has deposited some $745 million of ETH, data by Arkham Intelligence shows.The transfers have stretched the already long queue to establish new validators on the Ethereum network to 44 days, with Celsius potentially responsible for almost a week of extra time, Tom Wan, analyst at crypto investment product manager 21Shares noted.A D V E R T I S E M E N TA D V E R T I S E M E N T

On Thursday, the firm moved a total of 291,000 ETH, worth $553 million, into staking contracts, according to a Dune Analytics chart by 21Shares. A total of 192,000 tokens were deposited into the Celsius staking pool, while 99,000 tokens were staked with Figment, Wan reported.

On Friday, the company resumed moving tokens into staking contracts, putting it on track to stake all the 428,000 ETH stash. At the time of publication, the firm had staked some $199 million of ETH via Figment and deposited some $12 million to the Celsius staking pool, Arkham data shows.

After the transfers, Celsius wallets still held some $109 million in ETH, according to Arkham.

Ethereum stakers wait

Staking allows the beleaguered lender to earn rewards on digital asset holdings while the withdrawal freeze on user deposits is in effect.

However, it also significantly stresses an already crowded queue to add new validators on the Ethereum network. Validators are entities in a proof-of-stake blockchain, who stake tokens to guard the network and oversee transactions in exchange for a reward.

Demand for staking has increased dramatically since the Shanghai upgrade activated on April 12. Deposits surpassed withdrawals by almost $5.5 billion, leaving new entrants with a month-long wait time to set up validators, data by blockchain intelligence firm Nansen shows.

Celsius’ latest staking deposits further stretched the queue. The estimated time to clear the queue now stands at 44 days and one hour, according to Ethereum tracking website Wenmerge.

If Celsius commits all the 428,000 tokens to staking, it will add six days and 15 hours to the waiting time, increasing to 45 days, Wan predicted on Thursday.