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Cathie Wood Explains Why Ethereum’s Unstaking Queue Just Hit New Highs
The unstaking queue for Ethereum has reached a record 13 days with over $2.7 billion worth of ETH waiting to be withdrawn, causing significant congestion on the network. Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, has shed light on this sudden surge in unstaking requests. According to her, it is not retail investors who are driving this trend but rather institutional investors such as venture capital firms (VCs) and corporate treasury companies.
Wood points out that Robinhood’s 2% deposit promo is fueling liquidity moves that have clogged up the exit queue. Additionally, VCs and other investors are shifting staked ETH into Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs), a new concept in the crypto market.
These DATs allow for a unique investment opportunity where treasury companies can offer exposure to Bitcoin or Ethereum without actually holding any tokens directly. This shift towards DATs has seen companies like SharpLink Gaming, back by Joseph Lubin and Tom Lee, become major ETH holders, surpassing even the Ethereum Foundation itself in terms of ETH holdings.
The trend is also driven by institutions seeking alternative investment opportunities beyond just holding cryptocurrency. In an era where institutional investors are increasingly looking to gain exposure to crypto assets without actually holding them, DATs offer a more flexible option.
As the unstaking queue hits new highs, it’s clear that Ethereum’s role in traditional finance has changed and will continue to evolve as more users take advantage of these new investment opportunities.
Source: coinpedia.org
