Ethereum Staking Gridlock: MetaMask Security Incident Traps $2B in 14-Day Exit Queue

Ether waiting to leave Ethereum staking jumped more than fivefold in three days after MetaMask began pulling validators following a security incident on a popular wallet application. By Oct. 2, the exit queue had climbed to roughly 851,000 ETH, representing about 2% of the 43.6 million staked ETH. About 786,000 ETH, worth just over $2B, is still waiting to exit with an estimated wait of nearly 14 days. The network limits daily validator entry and exit to about 57,600 ETH each way to prevent sudden changes to its security, causing large moves to build up as queues. Ethereum security researcher Kaden estimated the precautionary exits covered roughly 17,000 validators holding about 523,000 ETH, which MetaMask operates for the staking service Lido. Separately, about 1.5 million ETH, worth roughly $4B, was waiting to enter staking on Monday with an estimated wait of roughly 25 days. "No action is required from stETH holders." — Lido