After the surge in ETH staking withdrawal delays on Ethereum last summer, it is now the queue’s turn to explode. Why is this happening?
Waiting times for ETH staking on Ethereum are skyrocketing
Over the past few months, we have repeatedly discussed Ethereum staking, as the queue for withdrawing ETH had grown significantly, reaching a peak of more than 46 days in September.
Little by little, this queue has been reduced, to the point where it now only takes 13 minutes to recover your ETH.
Conversely, the time it takes to deposit ETH for staking has increased significantly, with a wait time of 37 days and 12 hours at the time of writing. For comparison, this is the longest queue since July 9, 2023:
Expressed in terms of the number of ETH, this queue currently stands at 2.17 million units.
The main reason for this sharp increase in the delay lies with Bitmine, the largest Ethereum Treasury Company, whose Ether holdings represent 3.45% of the total supply. Of the more than 4.16 million ETH held by the company, approximately 30% is currently used to secure the Ethereum blockchain, and this amount nearly doubled last week:
As of January 11, 2026, the total amount of ETH staked on Bitmine stands at 1,256,083 (or $3.9 billion at $3,119 per ETH). This represents an increase of 596,864 ETH from the previous week. This amount represents only a fraction of the 4.17 million ETH held by Bitmine. […] Bitmine is currently working with three staking providers as part of its preparations for the commercial launch of its MAVAN (Made in America Validator Network) in 2026. Bitmine has staked more ETH than any other entity in the world.
Other more marginal reasons can also be found for this increase in delays, such as the fact that staking provides regular returns, currently at 2.83% per year. However, this assumption should be put into perspective, as higher returns can be obtained with stablecoins, or even outside the crypto ecosystem, without exposing oneself to the volatility of ETH.
Nevertheless, the fact that the price of ETH is now down 36.7% from its all-time high (ATH) could be seen as an investment opportunity by some investors, who would attempt to maximize their potential profits through staking.
As we did for the exit queue, we can now turn our attention to these entry delays, which could continue to lengthen if Bitmine or other Ethereum Treasuries Companies pursue their staking ambitions, but also when specialized ETFs are approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
