BlockBeats News, July 31st, Thomas Brunner, Head of Custody and Staking at Sygnum Bank, stated that the number of Ethereum validators in the queue has increased to around 2.5 million ETH. New stakers need to wait approximately 43 days to activate, but this data should not be simply seen as a bullish signal, as the backlog reflects both institutional demand and is also influenced by protocol mechanics.

Brunner pointed out that the Dencun upgrade has reduced the daily validator entry cap to around 57,600 ETH, while the Pectra upgrade did not increase this cap. Meanwhile, Pectra allows a single validator to hold up to 2,048 ETH and compound automatically. Large operators are adding to their existing stakes, and even if they only add 1 ETH, they need to join the same queue as new stakers. Therefore, the current backlog partly comes from the reconfiguration and compounding of existing stakes, rather than solely from new ETH demand.

In contrast, the queue for exiting is almost empty, providing a clearer signal. Brunner stated: "Almost no one is unstaking, which reflects true confidence; the queue entry measures both demand and infrastructure mechanics." Currently, around 41.2 million ETH is staked, accounting for 33.8% of the circulating supply.

He also mentioned that institutions have not stopped participating despite the weakness in the ETH price, as many institutions see staking rewards as an inherent property of ETH. However, validator addresses, deposit addresses, and withdrawal credentials are traceable, and privacy concerns remain a major obstacle for institutions to scale up their staking.