Vitalik Buterin defends Ethereum’s 6-week staking withdrawal delay as key security feature

19-9-2025 – Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin defended the network’s extended staking withdrawal queue on Wednesday, calling the six-week delay a deliberate security measure rather than a design flaw. The queue has reached historic levels, with 2.48 million ETH ($11.3 billion) currently awaiting withdrawal over a 43-day period.

Writing on X, Buterin compared the withdrawal mechanism to military discipline, arguing that instant exits would compromise network security. “If anyone in the military could suddenly leave at any time, the army would lose cohesion,” he stated, emphasizing that validators’ commitment protects Ethereum’s reliability. EigenLayer founder Sreeram Kannan echoed these sentiments a day earlier, describing the lengthy withdrawal period as a “conservative parameter” that prevents coordinated validator attacks.

Kannan warned that shortening the process to mere days could expose Ethereum to security vulnerabilities, allowing malicious validators to exit...

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