Ethereum validator exit queue to spike as Kiln moves tokens

The Ethereum validator exit queue may spike in the coming days, but crypto market participants have little to worry about, says Ethereum educator Anthony Sassano.

“This $ETH will presumably be restaked using new validator keys, aka it’s not going to be sold,” Sassano said in an X post on Tuesday, citing Kiln Finance’s announcement following a hack of a Switzerland-based crypto wealth management platform, SwissBorg.

A large volume of Ether ($ETH) being unstaked is sometimes considered a bearish indicator, as traders may fear it signals upcoming selling pressure. The $ETH exit queue is sitting at 1,628,074, according to ValidatorQueue data. Approximately 35.5 million $ETH is staked, roughly 29.36% of the total supply.

Kiln begins “orderly exit” of Ethereum validators

“Following our announcement yesterday regarding the Solana incident involving SwissBorg, Kiln is taking additional precautionary measures to safeguard client assets across all the networks,” Kiln Finance said in an X post on Tuesday.

SwissBorg earlier revealed that hackers had exploited a vulnerability in the API of its staking partner Kiln, draining about 193,000 Solana (SOL) tokens from its Earn program.

“As part of this response, Kiln today began the orderly exit of all of its Ethereum validators. The exit process is a precautionary measure designed to ensure the integrity of the staked assets,” Kiln Finance explained.

The Ethereum exit queue currently has approximately 1.63 million $ETH. Source: ValidatorQueue

Exit process could take up to 42 days, Kiln says

Kiln Finance explained that the exit process is expected to take between 10 and 42 days, depending on the validator.

Ether is trading at $4,306 at the time of publication, according to CoinMarketCap.

Related: Ethereum exit queue hits record $5B $ETH, raising sell pressure concerns

It comes after Ethereum has experienced times of surging entry and exit queues in recent months.

On Aug. 28, Cointelegraph reported that Ethereum saw the most significant validator exodus in crypto history, with over 1 million Ether tokens currently waiting to be withdrawn from staking through Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) network.

Meanwhile, on Sept. 3, the amount of Ether in the queue to be staked surged to its highest level since 2023 as institutional traders and crypto treasury firms aim to scoop rewards for their holdings.

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