The amount of Ether ETHUSD in the queue to be staked has surpassed that waiting to be unstaked, an occurrence that has previously preceded massive ETH price rallies.
Key takeaways:
* Ethereum staking queue surpasses the exit queue, historically an occurrence that has led to major ETH price rallies.
* ETH appears bullish above $2,750, with charts hinting at a $5,000 target.
Ethereum validator entry queue surpasses exit queue
Ethereum’s entry queue increased to 745,619 ETH worth $2.2 billion at current prices, with a 13-day wait time. This has surpassed the exit queue for the first time since June, currently at 360,528 ETH ($1.06 billion).
This marks the highest amount of Ether set for staking by the network’s validators since November 30.
Related: Ethereum’s TVL could skyrocket ’10X’ in 2026: Sharplink CEO
Data from ValidatorQueue notes that the current number of active validators is above 983,371 million, with 29.3% of the total ETH supply staked, or around 35.5 million ETH.
“Ethereum validator entry queue just flipped exit queue,” DefiIgnas said in a Saturday X post, adding:
This means that most validators are looking to hold on to their ETH, reducing the sell-side pressure.
“ETH validator entry queue is now bigger than the exit queue, for the first time in six months,” head of defi Monad, Abdul, said in an X post on Sunday, adding:
Data from TradingView reveals that the last two times the number of ETH waiting to be staked surpassed that to be unstaked were in March and June, preceding 90% and 126% Ether price rallies, respectively.
If history repeats itself, ETH price could climb to as high as $5,000 in 2026, on the back of increased staking, higher network activity and lower transaction fees.
Ether’s 2024 fractal setup targets $5,000 ETH price
Ether’s current technical structure closely mirrors the setup that sparked its Q4/2024 price rally.
The chart below suggests that the current horizontal price action within the $2,750-$3,200 range is behaving much like the whipsaw within $2,260 and $2,750 between July and October 2024.
Once the price broke above the high range at $2,750, it went on to rise 74.5% to $4,100 in December 2024.
With prices holding above $2,750, the ETHUSD pair has the potential to rise 75% from the current levels toward $5,120, echoing the rally that followed a similar technical setup in 2024.
Investor and trader Titan of Crypto said that “ETH has already retraced 61.8% from its last impulsive move,” adding that it is currently at a level where the price often reacts, as seen in mid-2024.
He added:
As Cointelegraph reported, Ether’s rise to new all-time highs in 2026 could be in question or even a “bull trap,” according to some prominent industry figures.
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