Ethereum (ETH) Stakers Are Back, Data Says

Ethereum (ETH) participants are once again showing interest in joining the ETH staking ecosystem, marking a positive trend after the turbulent month of January 2024. Data reveals that the number of validators waiting to lock their Ethers in staking has reached its highest level since late October 2023, with the Ethereum staking ecosystem inching closer to 1 million validators. This news has been well-received by blockchain enthusiasts, including Adriano Feria, who noted the surge in the validator queue for three consecutive days. In January, the ETH staking ecosystem faced significant turbulence due to the activation of the Shapella upgrade on the mainnet, leading to large crypto lender Celsius terminating its stake in Ethereum and initiating a mass withdrawal. This resulted in an exit queue of 16,000 validators, equivalent to over $1.1 billion in ETH to be unstaked. However, the exit queue was quickly cleared out, paving the way for the recent surge in validators. At present, there are 918,652 active validators on the Ethereum network, holding a cumulative total of 29.3 million Ethers, which represents around 24.3% of its supply. This demonstrates the appeal of ETH staking, which currently offers a 3.6% annual percentage yield (APY). Meanwhile, the price of Ethereum is struggling to maintain a position above $2,300, having bounced back and forth across this threshold multiple times in the past two months.