Ethereum’s validator exit queue has climbed to about 900,000 ether, worth roughly $3.8 billion, the highest level since withdrawals were enabled. The backlog, which stood at zero on July 15 when the token traded near $3,000, now requires an estimated 15 days to clear under the network’s rate-limited withdrawal mechanism. On-chain data show that liquid-staking giant Lido, restaking platform ether.fi and U.S. exchange Coinbase account for the bulk of the pending exits. Analysts say the surge reflects investors unwinding leveraged staking trades as borrowing costs rise and ether retreats from last week’s peak close to $4,800. The swelling queue has coincided with growing signs of selling pressure. CryptoQuant reports a jump in ether deposits to centralized exchanges, and one large trader closed a 21,683-ETH long position at a $6.6 million loss. Another OTC desk whale bought the dip, spending about $84 million USDC for 10,000 ETH, highlighting mixed positioning among big holders. Despite the prospective unlocks, overall exchange reserves have fallen to a nine-year low of 14.88 million ETH after users withdrew 470,000 coins in the past week. Ethereum’s stablecoin supply has expanded by roughly $300 million over the past day, underscoring conflicting signals about whether the record unstaking line will translate into sustained spot selling.