• Kraken is unstaking all of its ETH ahead of the Shapella upgrade.
• The upgrade will enable withdrawals from the staking contract for the first time since December 2020.
• Kraken’s withdrawals have already begun before the upgrade and other validators can do so as well.
Kraken Unstakes All Staked ETH
Kraken, a crypto exchange, is unstaking its locked ETH on behalf of its clients in preparation for a major update that will allow withdrawals Wednesday. This update, known as “Shapella”, will close out Kraken’s staking as a service product which was shuttered by regulators in February.
Shapella Upgrade
The Shapella upgrade is scheduled to occur at 10:27:35 PM UTC on April 12th and will enable Ethereum stakers to finally withdraw their ETH from the network’s staking contract for the first time since December 2020. As per Glassnode data, over 18 million ETH are currently locked in the contract and over 1,247,000 belong to Kraken.
Early Withdrawals Already Happening
According to Twitter response from Kraken’s support team, U.S.-based clients‘ locked ETH will automatically enter an unstaking process once Shapella goes live. Popular Ethereum educator sassal.eth on Twitter said that withdrawal processes have already begun before Shapella takes place; however Kraken won’t be able to withdraw its initial 32 ETH deposit or associated rewards until after it occurs.
Investor Concerns
Some investors are concerned that unlocking with drawl volumes could cause problems due to congestion while others worry about potential slashing if they don’t meet their required minimum balance within 30 days after withdrawal requests are made – something that happens when validators miss blocks or go offline with insufficient funds in their wallets..
Conclusion
Overall, Kraken’s move is good news for investors who have been waiting months for their funds to be released following February’s shutdown of its staking program by regulators. It also provides some much needed clarity regarding upcoming changes related to Shapella – allowing users to make decisions based on accurate information without fear or speculation surrounding withdrawal processes and related risks involved