16 Million Ethereum Worth $26B Eligible For Dump Starting March 2023
YouTuber Lark Davis released a video warning users that 16 million Ethereum tokens worth over $26 billion will be eligible to be withdrawn and dumped on the market, from March 2023 onwards.
However, he adds that all the coins will not be unlocked at the same time. Similarly, while many are looking forward to gains from selling, Davis declares that not all Ethereum holders will be likely to sell or dump either.
He shares that ETH was valued at $600 at the time of staking. However, it would take all of the Ethereum validators almost a year to exit if they wished to due to the daily limits. Moreover, Davis announces that over a million coins will be unlocked in 3 weeks after the unlocking starts, as part of the staking reward.
According to Davis, if holders decide to sell instead of staking after the unlocking goes live, it will propose a good buying opportunity for crypto investors and traders.
Staking, as defined on the ethereum.org website of the Ethereum Foundation, is “the act of investing 32 ETH to activate validator software.” But, cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase and specialized websites like Lido allow holders of Ether to engage in staking and collect rewards without having to satisfy the 32 ETH minimum.
The platforms are able to issue tokens that represent users’ staked ether, also known as liquid-staking derivatives. While the staked ether they represent is locked up and earning interest, the derivative tokens can be traded or utilized in other decentralized finance applications.
Despite the fact that the Merge took place in 2022, Ethereum users started staking ether as early as December 2020 in order to gain access to the validator software, knowing that the staked assets and any collected rewards would stay locked up until a subsequent upgrade to the blockchain.
Additionally, Staking Rewards, a data provider, estimates that 14% of all ether tokens are currently staked, representing a market worth nearly $29 billion. Validators will finally be allowed to withdraw these assets thanks to the Shanghai upgrade, should they want to do so.