Ethereum news: Staking queues drop to nearly zero, setting up bearish outlook for ETH

Ethereum's staking queues have emptied, allowing new validators and exits to process almost instantly, which means the rush to lock up ETH has subsided, shifting staking from a scarcity trade to a steady-state, yield-bearing position with yields compressing toward 3%.

This change in liquidity dynamics alters the psychology around the ETH trade; while staking still reduces immediate sell pressure, the smooth withdrawal process makes ETH behave more like a liquid allocation rather than a forced lockup asset. This contrasts with earlier expectations, such as Galaxy Digital's prediction that staking-induced supply shock would push ETH above $5,500, which has not materialized as total staked ETH is around 30%.

Furthermore, Ethereum faces challenges in value capture as activity fragments across Layer-2 networks like Base, which recently generated more fees than Ethereum L1 itself. Experts note that if ETH is treated primarily as a trust asset rather than actively used, the burn mechanism weakens, potentially building sell-side pressure over time, leading prediction markets to assign low probability for a new all-time high by March 2026.

(Source：CoinDesk)