The waiting time for Ethereum validators to withdraw staked Ether (ETH) has extended, and Celsius might be partially responsible

According to CoinDesk, Ethereum validators may have to wait several days to withdraw staked Ether (ETH), and the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency lending company Celsius could be partially responsible for the backlog. Validators stake ETH to help secure the Ethereum network in exchange for a stable interest rate, but there is a daily limit on the number of validators that can unstake, leading to the current backlog. According to blockchain data from validatorqueue.com, the Ethereum validator exit queue surged to over 16,000 on Friday, up from just 26 the previous day. The value of ETH in the queue exceeds $1 billion, and due to the significant backlog, these ETH may take as long as 5.6 days to return to depositors. Celsius, a cryptocurrency lending company that filed for bankruptcy in 2022 and is currently undergoing restructuring, appears to be responsible for the current delays. According to blockchain analytics company Nansen, 32% of all ETH waiting to be withdrawn is from Celsius applications, and 54.7% comes from the staking service Figment reportedly used by Celsius.