Ethereum (ETH) validators are yet again queuing to join the ETH staking ecosystem as the turbulent January 2024 is over. Is this an optimistic signal?
Ethereum (ETH) validator queue at highest since October
The number of validators waiting for the opportunity to lock their Ethers in staking is at the highest level since late October 2023. The Ethereum (ETH) staking ecosystem inches closer to 1 million validators, data says.
The crucial metric is surging for the third day in a row. Such a trend was registered by Adriano Feria, blockchain and AI enthusiast.
In January 2024, the Ethereum (ETH) staking ecosystem witnessed its biggest turbulence since unstaking became possible due to the Shapella upgrade being activated on the mainnet.
As part of its bankruptcy procedure, large crypto lender Celsius decided to terminate its stake in Ethereum (ETH) and initiated a mass withdrawal. The exit queue jumped to 16,000 validators, which equals over $1.1 billion in ETH to be unstaked.
At the same time, as per the Validator Queue tracker, the exit queue was cleared out rapidly.
Ethereum (ETH) price struggles to stay above $2,300, volume loses 30%
As of today, there are 918,652 active validators on the Ethereum (ETH) network. In total, they accumulated 29.3 million Ethers, or 24.3% of its supply.
Given these numbers, ETH staking brings 3.6% per year in APY.
Meanwhile, the Ethereum (ETH) price is trying to stay above $2,300. In the last two months, ETH managed to conquer this line seven times, but it always led to retracement.