Ethereum’s validator exit queue has reached its longest backlog of 2026, with 786,275 ETH awaiting withdrawal and an estimated processing time of 13 days and 16 hours as of October 5. The surge followed a precautionary exit of validators operated by MetaMask Staking through Lido after a security incident disclosure on September 30.
Data from ValidatorQueue shows the exit line expanded from about 166,000 ETH on September 29 to a peak of roughly 851,000 ETH on October 2, before easing to 767,349 ETH. Independent estimates cited in the reference placed the affected MetaMask stake near 523,000 ETH across approximately 17,000 validators, though MetaMask has not confirmed those figures. At ETH’s price near $2,715, that amounts to about $1.42 billion.
Meanwhile, the entry queue remains even larger at 1.46 million ETH, with new stakers waiting more than 25 days for activation. Total staked ETH stands at 43.7 million ETH, or 35.76% of supply, with an estimated APR of 2.63% and 866,944 active validators. Ethereum’s churn limit of 256 ETH per epoch in each direction means only about 57,600 ETH can be cleared daily on each side of the queue.
Lido expects much of the ETH connected to MetaMask’s exits to be gradually restaked, with the full exit, withdrawal and re-entry process potentially taking up to 45 days. Consensys founder Joseph Lubin said the incident did not compromise users’ secret recovery phrases, keys or wallet assets, and that validator keys were rotated as a precaution. MetaMask also warned users to remain alert for phishing attempts. The network bottleneck therefore largely represents temporary validator migration rather than a permanent reduction in staked supply.
