The Ethereum network has recorded a historic surge in staking activity: for the first time since July 2025, the number of incoming staking requests has exceeded outgoing requests. The volume of assets locked in the queue has surpassed $3.6 billion, setting an all-time record for the ecosystem since the Shanghai upgrade in 2023.
This is reported by Finway
Details of the Record Ethereum Staking Queue
According to Validator Queue, as of September 4, 2025, there are 826,876 ETH in the staking queue, equivalent to approximately $3.6 billion. In comparison, there are currently 815,757 ETH in the exit queue, or about $3.55 billion. This is the first instance since July 22 when the volume of incoming requests has exceeded outgoing requests, indicating a restoration of confidence in the Ethereum staking mechanism.
Ethereum network validator staking queue. Source: Validator Queue.
Experts attribute the increase in staking queues to rising demand for fixed income and the stability of the protocol following previous upgrades. Staking service provider Everstake emphasized that current application volumes are the highest since the Shanghai upgrade enabled the withdrawal of staked assets.
The staking service provider Everstake noted that the surge in demand “reflects the largest queues since the Shanghai upgrade, which opened the possibility of withdrawing staked Ethereum.”
Impact of the Queue on the Market and Player Expectations
Due to the significant load on the network, the average waiting period for staking activation is currently around 15 days. This timeframe reflects a high level of competition among validators and users’ desire to secure profitability from staking ETH.
Staking queue dynamics over the last 90 days. Source: Validator Queue.
Analysts predict that the total volume of staked ETH will remain stable at over 36 million coins, as incoming and outgoing requests are nearly balanced. Despite the record queue, the balance between both directions helps avoid significant fluctuations in the coin’s supply structure in the market.
At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at $4,352, remaining the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization in the world.
Daily ETH/USDT chart on Binance. Source: TradingView.
It is worth noting that in June 2025, the historical maximum of staked coins exceeded 35 million ETH, and according to analysts at Bernstein, staking $1 billion in Ethereum could generate about $50 million in annual income.