Ethereum briefly fell toward $2,000 on Tuesday after hotter-than-expected US inflation data rattled financial markets. ETH later recovered to around $2,060, but remains under pressure.
Behind the sell-off, however, Ethereum’s staking data reveals an unusual trend. Investors are showing little appetite for withdrawing their staked ETH, raising questions about whether the market is approaching a longer-term turning point.
Ethereum’s Staking Exit Queue Collapses
On October 11, approximately 457,840 ETH was waiting to leave staking. By November 9, that figure had collapsed nearly 99% to just 5,061 ETH.
The queue has since rebounded to roughly 66,000 ETH, according to ValidatorQueue, but remains about 86% below October’s level.
This matters because withdrawing staked ETH is one way investors prepare to sell. A smaller queue suggests limited immediate withdrawal pressure, although it cannot establish whether investors are selling elsewhere.
Meanwhile, approximately 44.5 million ETH, representing 36.4% of circulating supply, remains staked.
CryptoQuant analyst PelinayPA argues that growing staking participation could support prices over the medium to long term by reducing immediately available supply.
However, the entry queue has fallen from over 4 million ETH in February to around 910,000 ETH. That suggests the backlog of new staking commitments is shrinking.
Can Ethereum’s Staking Strength Prevent Another Crash?
Another risk is emerging among large holders.
Santiment recorded more than 630 daily stETH whale transactions worth at least $100,000 in early November, the highest sustained activity since April.
“High borrowing activity shows stETH is being heavily used as collateral to borrow ETH and other assets,” Santiment said.
Such borrowing creates liquidation risks during sharp declines.
ETH already broke below Santiment’s $2,050 warning level intraday Tuesday. Meanwhile, spot Ethereum ETFs lost $184.6 million on November 9.
For the coming months, Ethereum’s growing staked supply could provide support if investor demand returns. A sustained recovery above $2,200 would strengthen that case.
But continued ETF outflows, weaker staking entries, and forced liquidations could overwhelm that support, leaving $2,000 exposed.
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