Ethereum Staking Withdrawals Post-Shanghai Upgrade: Less Than 5% So Far

Ethereum’s highly anticipated Shanghai upgrade on April 12 has left many stakers eagerly waiting to withdraw their staked Ethereum. However, a recent analysis by CoinShares suggests that the expected wave of withdrawals has not occurred, at least not yet.

According to the analysis, less than 5% of validators have withdrawn their stakes in Ethereum since the upgrade, which is contrary to popular belief. This has kept the price of Ethereum relatively steady despite the expected sell-off. At the time of writing, ETH was down 1.06% in the last 24 hours, trading at $1,972.

(1/7) 8 days after Ethereum’s #ShanghaiUpgrade, what’s the current state of $ETH staking withdrawals?
In this Chart of the Week, we take a look at key figures and what data to monitor as an Ether investor 🧵 pic.twitter.com/o2bHIsjXTG

— CoinShares (@CoinSharesCo) April 20, 2023

CoinShares also revealed that over 19,500 validators are still in the withdrawal queue, with a waiting time of nearly 12 days until all have withdrawn. This waiting time could suggest that stakers are currently holding onto their ETH, waiting to see how the market evolves before they make their move.

Similarly, there are over 7,800 validators in the deposit queue, which has a waiting time of nearly four days. This means that there is still considerable demand for staking ETH, and more stakers are looking to deposit their Ethereum into the network.

Interestingly, one entity represents over 80% of withdrawals, and that entity is none other than Kraken, the crypto exchange. The exchange reportedly withdrew its staked ETH to shut down its staking service for US customers, following regulatory pressure from the SEC.

Ethereum Price Remains Steady Despite Withdrawal Expectations

Despite the current waiting period for withdrawals, the future of Ethereum still looks bright, and the price is expected to rise as demand increases. The network has also been improved with the recent upgrade, with a focus on efficiency and lower transaction fees.

In conclusion, while the expected wave of staked ETH withdrawals has not occurred as anticipated, it is still too early to draw any conclusions. The waiting period could suggest that stakers are still holding onto their ETH, waiting to see how the market evolves. With over 19,500 validators still in the withdrawal queue, it will be interesting to see how the price of Ethereum behaves in the coming days.