The amount of Ethereum waiting to enter staking has overtaken the volume queued for withdrawal for the first time since July, marking a key shift in network activity.

According to data from the Ethereum Validator Queue, the staking entry line reached 833,141 ETH (around $3.7 billion) on Sept. 4, surpassing the 819,757 ETH (roughly $3.6 billion) currently awaiting exit from staking pools.

Notably, this is the first time since July 22 that the entry requests have outpaced exits. Staking service provider Everstake also noted that the surge reflects the largest queues observed since 2023, when the Shanghai upgrade allowed staked ETH withdrawals.

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As a result, ETH stakers must wait approximately 15 days before they can stake their assets on the chain.

Despite this shift, the total supply of staked ETH is expected to remain largely steady at above 36 million ETH because the entry and exit volumes nearly balance each other out.

Crypto Journalist

Amin Ayan

Crypto Journalist

Amin Ayan

About Author

Amin Ayan is a crypto journalist with over four years of experience in the industry. He has contributed to leading publications such as Cryptonews, Investing.com, 99Bitcoins, and 24/7 Wall St. He has…

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Last updated: 

September 3, 2025

The Ethereum staking entry queue has surged to its highest level in nearly two years, reaching 860,369 ETH, worth approximately $3.7 billion, on Tuesday.

It marks the longest wait time since the Shanghai upgrade in 2023, which allowed for withdrawals and briefly triggered large-scale validator exits.

Institutional Influx Drives Renewed Confidence in Ethereum Staking: Everstake

According to staking protocol Everstake, the sudden rise reflects renewed confidence in Ethereum’s long-term potential and an influx of institutional capital.

“We haven’t seen queues of this size since 2023. It’s a strong signal that more people trust Ethereum and want to participate in securing it,” the firm noted.

The combination of rising Ether prices, currently hovering around $4,321, and relatively low gas fees has made staking more attractive to both retail users and corporate treasuries.

The increased staking activity also helps calm recent concerns about mass exits, which spiked when the staking exit queue briefly topped 1 million ETH on Aug. 29 before falling back by 20%.

Ethereum currently has 35.7 million ETH locked in staking contracts—around 31% of the total supply, according to Ultrasound.Money.

Notably, corporate treasury funds now hold 4.7 million ETH, worth over $20 billion, with the majority earmarked for staking.

StrategicEtherReserve data shows more than 70 treasury participants have already begun deploying long-term staking strategies.

The convergence of market conditions, price levels, and institutional involvement has pushed the staking entry and exit queues closer to balance for the first time since July.

That equilibrium suggests a healthier staking environment and growing demand for yield generation on Ethereum’s base layer.

While ETH has slipped 12.4% from its Aug. 24 all-time high, long-term holders appear to be undeterred. Instead of exiting, many are doubling down, waiting in line to earn yield on-chain.

Joseph Lubin Predicts 100x ETH Surge

Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin believes ETH could rally 100x or more over time, calling it Wall Street’s future infrastructure as TradFi shifts toward decentralized finance.

In an X post, Lubin said Ethereum will replace many siloed systems at institutions like JPMorgan and become the backbone for financial services, staking, and smart contract execution.

Backing the bullish stance of Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, Lubin stated he’s “100% aligned” with Lee’s view that Ethereum could flip Bitcoin in network value.

He compared the moment to 1971 when the U.S. dollar left the gold standard, signaling a tectonic shift in financial architecture led by Ethereum.

Lubin emphasized that ETH represents a new kind of virtual commodity — “decentralized trust” — that institutions will be forced to adopt.

He sees Ethereum’s decentralized rails powering everything from traditional finance operations to smart contract-based agreements, with massive upside as adoption scales globally.

Likewise, Lee has predicted that Ethereum will rally in the near term to $5,500, with an ambitious year-end target of $12,000.

During his August 26 guest appearance on the Amitis Investing program, Lee disclosed that institutional Wall Street sentiment toward Ethereum has shifted dramatically following the U.S. Senate’s passage of the GENIUS Stablecoin legislation.

Lee emphasized that Ethereum is the foundational blockchain infrastructure for traditional finance (TradFi), currently supporting over $145 billion in stablecoin supply.

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet is seeking to raise 555 billion yen ($3.73 billion) through a new stock offering to support its aggressive Bitcoin accumulation strategy.

The company, which is known as “Asia’s Strategy,” announced Friday that it will issue perpetual preferred shares to fund its goal of acquiring 210,000 Bitcoin (BTC) by the end of 2027. The shares will offer up to a 6% annual dividend, depending on market conditions and investor demand.

“The Company intends to actively pursue equity financing as part of its ‘Bitcoin Strategy,’ which aims to acquire 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027,” it said. “We believe that introducing Bitcoin-backed preferred shares represents a pioneering effort to fill this gap.”

Related: ‘Apple should buy Bitcoin,’ Saylor says, as share buyback disappoints

Metaplanet’s stock offering comes a day after Cointelegraph reported corporate crypto treasury firms had surpassed $100 billion in collective investments, with Bitcoin-focused treasuries amassing $93 billion worth of that value.

Continued corporate accumulation from the likes of Strategy and Metaplanet, paired with the growing money supply, could push Bitcoin’s price above $132,000 before the end of 2025 based on Bitcoin’s correlation with the global M2 money supply.

Strategy, the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin treasury firm, has also launched similar capital-raising efforts. On July 22, the firm announced a new type of Bitcoin-backed stock pegged to $100 per share with an initial monthly dividend of 9% annually.

Related: Satoshi-era $9.7B Bitcoin OG: Galaxy moves another $1.1B to exchanges

Bitcoin’s next macro catalyst hiding in plain sight

Despite the illiquid period characteristic of the summer time, Bitcoin’s next significant monetary catalyst may occur as soon as September.

As Washington heads into its summer recess, “attention will likely shift to fiscal matters once Congress reconvenes after Labor Day on September 2,” according to a Friday research report by Matrixport, which said: 

“Fiscal uncertainty has historically been a powerful tailwind for hard assets, and Bitcoin remains front and center in the narrative.”

Despite the significance of US Crypto Week and continued accumulation by crypto treasury firms, the “real macro driver is hiding in plain sight,” the report added.

Meanwhile, markets are currently pricing in a 60.8% chance that the Fed will keep interest rates steady during the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Sept. 17, according to the latest estimates of the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

Magazine: Bitcoin OG Willy Woo has sold most of his Bitcoin — Here’s why

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