Ethereum Unstaking Incoming: Everything You Need To Know
Kevin Dwyer
April 5, 2023
5 min read
There is approximately one week remaining before Ethereum’s combined Shanghai and Capella upgrades are completed (expected April 12), and ETH staking providers are working hard to ensure stakers have the ability to unstake funds as soon as possible. The Shanghai Upgrade will see $28 billion in ETH unlocked, granting the ability for stakers to unstake and withdraw ETH from the Ethereum mainnet for the first time.
This article is designed to anticipate the questions Ankr Staking users will have about unstaking their ankrETH liquid staking tokens and redeeming their ETH funds. Let’s get to it:
When Will ETH Unstaking Be Available?
For those who have used a staking service to stake their ETH, unstaking may not be available on the same day as the Shanghai Upgrade. Staking providers have different dates on when unstaking will be available on their respective platforms once the upgrade is successful.
- Ankr: Unstaking will be available a few hours after the upgrade is complete on April 12. Stay tuned to the Ankr and Ankr Staking Twitter feeds for the exact time next Wednesday.
- Coinbase: 24 hours after the upgrade is complete
- Lido: stETH withdrawals are estimated to come in mid-May
- Rocketpool: After their ‘Atlas’ upgrade is completed – a specific date is not given.
What Will Ankr Staking Users Be Able To Do On April 12th?
Those who use Ankr Staking for ETH staking will be able to begin the process of requesting to unstake their ETH from the Ethereum mainnet. However, they should be prepared for some delay before they can access their funds as the Ethereum network itself will take some time to process all of the queued unstaking requests – how long this will take will be variable based on demand and is still unknown at this time.
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Continue Staking ETH and Earning Rewards: The Shanghai Upgrade requires zero action from those who want to keep their ETH staked with Ankr. You can continue earning rewards and even contribute more ETH to your liquid staking portfolio at your convenience.
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Initiate Partial ETH Unstake/Withdrawal: In some cases, users will want to unstake only some of their staked ETH, whether that is their accumulated rewards or some other amount they would like to deploy elsewhere. They can choose to partially unstake on April 12 and begin the process on the Ethereum mainnet.
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Initiate Full ETH Unstake/Withdrawal: Some of Ankr’s liquid staking users will want to unstake the full amount of their ankrETH and redeem it for their original ETH plus all accumulated ETH rewards, which can be done easily after the upgrade is complete.
The step-by-step process for unstaking ETH will be updated and available in our docs as soon as Ankr implements the solution.
What Will Happen Once You Unstake ankrETH from Ankr Staking?
In the beginning, initiating the unstaking process on Ankr Staking will not mean you will be able to receive your ETH funds to your wallet right away. There will still be the normal Ethereum unstaking process which means you will have to wait for the blockchain’s Epoch requirements and processing wait times to finish before receiving your funds. However, Ankr will begin to implement a Flash Unstake ETH pool that will facilitate instant unstaking in the future (already in use for ankrBNB unstaking).
How Is Ankr Ensuring ETH Unstaking Will Go Smoothly?
Ankr is dedicated to providing the most secure, decentralized, and user-friendly ETH staking experience possible. This includes continuous improvements that we’ve been working on recently:
Strong Security Measures
Ankr Staking is working with Cubist to implement additional security infrastructure for ETH withdrawals that will be in effect as soon as unstaking becomes available. Cubist is deploying several security upgrades to ensure Ankr has all bases covered when it comes to providing users with a safe process for unstaking and withdrawing ETH back to their wallet of choice. These upgrades include:
- Security features to enhance deposit and withdrawal protections
- An extremely robust security backend to safeguard validator keys
- On-chain–verifiable deposit and withdrawal flows that let users see exactly what will happen before they stake
Enhanced Decentralization
Ankr’s upcoming ETH Validator Hub will launch an open marketplace acting as a transparent way for users to choose which nodes they want to delegate their assets to. Currently, we are initiating this marketplace with Ethereum and will expand to other networks progressively. The marketplace will give users greater flexibility and control over their assets, allowing them to choose nodes that fit their specific risk appetite and APY goals.
Trustless ETH Staking
Ankr has given our users the choice of liquid staking their ETH with SSV technology, increasing staking security with decentralized nodes integrated with Ankr’s liquid staking mechanism. SSV stands for Secret Shared Validator, and is often labeled as Distributed Validator Technology (DVT). This technology enables any validator node to split its keys between four operators to ensure uptime and reduce slashing risk.
More Multichain Opportunities
The ankrETH token is currently available on Ethereum and BNB Chain using Ankr Bridge, and will be deployed in the coming days to Avalanche, Polygon zkEVM, and Fantom, enabling further utility and DeFi composability opportunities on multiple chains. Follow Ankr Staking on Twitter to stay up to date on the latest DeFi integrations of ankrETH on new chains.
Final Thoughts
As Ethereum nears the completion of its transition to a fully functional Proof-of-Stake network, this upgrade marks an exciting and optimistic period for both the ecosystem and the broader Web3 industry. With the successful implementation of the Shanghai Upgrade, the Ethereum blockchain will solidify its position as one of the most decentralized, secure, and established L1 networks in existence. Furthermore, the upgrade will make the network more viable and significantly lower risk as a staking strategy as unstaking becomes available.
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