Ethereum Foundation Eliminates the Estimated Withdrawal Timeframe for Staked ETH
Ethereum holders will have to wait for clarified information on when they can withdraw their staked ETH after eliminating the dates from Ethereum Foundation’s official website.
The Merge
Ethereum has finally transformed from a Proof of Work to a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism after users waited in zeal for this transition for years. The real question looming in the minds of Ethereum stakers is: when can Ethereum stakers withdraw their staked ETH? A query that is still unclear today.
Before the merge, it was evident that Ethereum Foundation’s team had made an approximation of opening staked withdrawals between 6 to 12 months after the Ethereum Mainnet merged with the Proof of Stake Beacon Chain. Ethereum publicly displayed this information on the Ethereum Foundation’s official website.
However, after the merge, Ethereum Foundation seems to have silently eliminated this information from its official website to avoid spooky eyes from restless investors. It is unclear why Ethereum has concealed this information, but the most probable course is that developers are anticipating that withdrawals will take longer than 12 months.
Ethereum’s New Tokenomics Post-Merge
Since Ethereum opened staking pools to enterprising investors, users have staked more than 14.5 million ETH, equivalent to more than 18 billion dollars, with the current market price of ETH. Investors can earn from staking in three ways:
- The deposit makes staking rewards for stakers which currently stands at 4.1% of invested capital.
- Investors may enjoy ‘capital gains’ when ETH increases in value over the period.
- Validators earn from fees paid by users for every block validated.
The One-Way Ticket
It is, however, unfortunate that Ethereum staking is currently a one-way ticket only as the ETH foundation has not issued any withdrawal means or dates. This implies that investors can’t withdraw the staked or earned ETH. Enjoying staking rewards is limited only to validators of the new PoS network. However, the validation fee is very minute compared to staking rewards.
Postponing withdrawal dates is something that Ethereum fans highly expected. Ethereum had informed the public that staked ETH would not be available for withdrawal immediately after the merge. It is also likely that the process would be slow once the leaves begin, involving releasing withdrawals gradually and in the queue. The queue could last a few months before investors could finally get their hands on the unstaked ETH, even after Ethereum permits withdrawals.
Shanghai Upgrade
Withdrawals, according to Ethereum, will only be initiated after the anticipated Shanghai upgrade, which was initially expected to occur 6 to 12 months after the merge. It, however, seems that the Shanghai upgrade will take longer than the expected duration.
With the current nil availability of the dates for Shanghai upgrade finalization, investors will have to wait patiently for a clarification on when and how they can unstake their funds. As the bearish market sentiment continues to wreak havoc in the crypto space, validators will have to painfully watch their deposited ETH devalues daily.
