Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has finally responded to concerns over the increasing Ethereum staking exit queue, which has now reached 45 days.
This reaction followed Michael Marcantonio, head of DeFi at Galaxy Digital, labeling the exit queue length as “troubling” on X and comparing it to Solana, which only requires two days to unstake. He has since deleted those posts.
“Unclear how a network that takes 45 days to return assets can serve as a suitable candidate to power the next era of global capital markets.”
However, Buterin seemed to take a more philosophical view on the matter, comparing unstaking from Ethereum to “a soldier deciding to quit the army,” adding that staking is akin to “taking on a solemn duty to defend the chain.”
“Friction in quitting is part of the deal. An army cannot hold together if any percent of it can suddenly leave at any time.”
Overall, the network remains very secure with over a million active validators and 35.6 million ETH staked, which accounts for nearly 30% of the total supply.
Buterin did acknowledge that the current staking queue design isn’t ideal, but stated that decreasing the constants would make the chain “much less trustworthy” for nodes that do not come online frequently.
Recently, Galaxy Digital acquired $1.5 billion worth of Solana (SOL) after collaborating with Multicoin Capital and trading firm Jump Crypto in a Solana treasury initiative.
Additionally, Galaxy Digital became the first Nasdaq-listed company to tokenize its shares on Solana.
Related: Ethereum unstaking queue goes ‘parabolic’: What does it mean for price?
Countering the staking FUD
Marcantonio appeared to delete the posts following backlash from the community.
Jimmy Ragosa, a former Consensys product manager, criticized Marcantonio and Galaxy Digital, stating that, from his understanding through direct messages, the relentless “ETH FUD” has resulted in most entities with a vested interest in Ethereum reconsidering their business engagements with Galaxy.
“Apparently, Galaxy made their head of DeFi delete all of his Ethereum FUD,” remarked crypto lawyer Gabriel Shapiro, adding that “he was conducting highly manipulative operations.”
“Honestly, I wish it had stayed visible because it only showcased Ethereum’s strengths both technologically and culturally, but that’s life.”
“I’ll be advising people against doing business with Galaxy,” stated Ethereum educator Anthony Sassano, adding:
“Deleting tweets doesn’t change the fact that the individual is their ‘Head of DeFi’ and lacks a basic understanding of this industry, prioritizing disparaging Ethereum over the actual truth.”
Solana supporter Mike Dudas backed Galaxy, asserting that “individuals with a vested interest in Ethereum must collaborate with subpar bankers rather than Galaxy, who proved with Solana that they can generate substantial value in transactions and connect with a much wider array of stakeholders.”
Cointelegraph reached out to Marcantonio and Galaxy for their remarks.
The Ethereum ecosystem stays robust
The Ethereum exit queue has decreased in the last few days, yet remains elevated at 2.5 million ETH. A significant portion of this is attributed to Kiln Finance following an exploit.
Currently, there are 512,000 ETH in the entry queue, which recently peaked at a two-year high amid institutional accumulation.
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