The Ethereum validator queue is reduced to 14 days while 833,000 ETH wait to enter the program.

The queue of Ethereum validators currently has over 833,000 Ether waiting to be processed to enter staking pools, just 11 days after the second cryptocurrency by market capitalization reached its all-time high of $4,946.

According to data from the Ethereum Validator Queue, there are 833,141 ETH, valued at $3.6 billion at current prices, pending to enter staking. The estimated wait time is 14 days and 11 hours.

A validator queue is the waiting list for participants who wish to become validators to secure the network while earning staking rewards.

The figures in the queue remain positive despite the weekly drop

The charts tracking the inflow and outflow queues show that in the week of August 29, the outflow queue was at 1.05 million ETH, but it has steadily decreased, dropping to 831,053 ETH by September 3, nearly 25% lower.

On the entry side, after a drop at the beginning of the period, volumes increased to 860,000 on September 2, the highest level recorded since September 2023, following the Shanghai upgrade. The figures rose by approximately 15% compared to Monday, and have stabilized around 833,000 ETH.

The output processing times fell from nearly 19 days on August 29 to about 14 days on September 4, a decrease of 26%. The waiting times to enter followed a similar trajectory, dropping from over 13 days on August 29 to just under 14 days in the latest count, disregarding a temporary spike to nearly 15 days recorded on Tuesday.

Validator exits do not necessarily mean that the token is in a bearish phase. Many validators locked Ether at much lower prices when ETH was trading between $1,000 and $2,000. Judging by the current market value that has surpassed $4,400, some participants are withdrawing their funds to take profits.

Secondly, ETH holders had to stake a minimum of 32 ETH to become validators. Institutions are now merging into validator spaces of 2,048 ETH, which requires closing smaller positions before redistributing.

The market also mentions that the shift towards liquid staking tokens has caused outgoing validators to move funds to derivatives such as stETH, rETH, or platforms like Ether.fi and EigenLayer, primarily for liquidity and restaking opportunities.

ETH price in consolidation phase after the ATH

Ether was trading at $4,420 at the time of this publication, with daily gains of 1% but a weekly drop of approximately 4.6%. The trading volume in the last 24 hours reached $31.6 billion, slightly rising by 0.4%, which could indicate that holders are uncertain about whether to hold or sell tokens.

Market observers suggest that smaller buyers have been accumulating coins while whales remain on the sidelines. Without renewed participation from larger players, there could be a ceiling that limits their upward momentum.

According to data from SoSoValue, net flows into Ether-based exchange-traded funds on Wednesday were negative, with institutional outflows of $38.24 million. BlackRock's ETHA fund had the only and largest withdrawal of $151.4 million.

Meanwhile, other asset managers like Fidelity recorded inflows of $65.7 million in their ETH product, while Grayscale and Bitwise recorded $26.5 million and $20.8 million respectively.