Kraken, the cryptocurrency exchange, leads the queue of validators moving to unstake their Ether as Ethereum’s Shanghai upgrade goes live. The upgrade allows users who have bet their Ether to validate and secure trades on the network to withdraw their funds.
Kraken’s position as the leader of the unstaking queue comes as no surprise, given the legal issues it had with the SEC earlier this year. In February, Kraken was required to settle with the SEC for $30 million due to the SEC’s determination that its staking offerings were unregistered securities. According to on-chain data from Rated network explorer, Kraken is leading with 62% of validators in the exit queue, which has surpassed the 15,000 mark.
However, despite the high number of validators unstaking, the impact of the Shanghai upgrade on the Ethereum protocol and its token has been marginal. Nansen.ai data shows that there has only been a -0.25% change in staked Ether. In March, CryptoQuant reported that 60% of all staked Ether was being held at a loss, which suggests that the selling pressure on Ether would be low after the Shanghai upgrade. Recent data from Nansen shows that the average price of staked Ether on Lido is $2,552, with Lido making up around 31% of all Ether deposits.
The data also indicates that approximately 4.35 million Ether, or 24% of all staked Ether, is staked at a price point above $3,000, a level not seen since April 2022.
Data also shows that 4.35 million Ether, or about 24%, is staked at above $3,000, a price point not seen since April 2022. Ethereum has transitioned to a complete proof-of-stake web, where users stake crypto as a guarantee to secure unused data blocks. The proof-of-stake consensus mechanism has reduced 99% of Ethereum’s energy consumption, and developers believe the network is now more secure and decentralized, media reports said.
