Users are worried about when they can withdraw ETH from staking, as the timeframe was postponed several times and eventually disappeared. The community accuses Ethereum developers of organizing a “next level” rug pull.
Users who sent their ETH to staking can’t get access to their coins. What’s more, Ethereum Foundation representatives completely removed information from their website about the timeframe for unlocking funds sent to staking. A Twitter user stressed that, confirming the statement with screenshots of the pages removed from the network.
Ethereum developers initially assured that ETH staking withdrawals would be available once the network switched to PoS. However, the terms of depositing were postponed — first for six months, then for 12 months, and then it was possible to withdraw funds only in 2024. Now, the official website of the Ethereum Foundation and the company’s social networks don’t have any information about the deadline at all.
According to Dune, as of 14:00 (GMT+2) on November 17, the network blocked over 15 million ETH, or about 13% of Ethereum’s issuance. At the time of writing, that’s roughly $18 billion in monetary terms, so it’s not surprising that the community reacted furiously to these problems.
Twitter users began criticizing Ethereum developers, calling ETH staking a “non-redeemable” investment. Some users even accused the company of fraud, calling Ethereum a “next level” rug pull.
Ethereum supporters blamed critics for unfounded attacks. For example, Anthony Sassano, Founder of The Daily Gwei and Co-Founder of ETHhub, called such attacks “braindead,” highlighting the fact that previously these same critics didn’t believe The Merge would happen. Ethereum developer nicknamed Antiprosynth tweeted that such criticism is directly related to Bitcoin supporters. He alluded to Ethereum’s growing market dominance and the increasing competition between BTC and ETH for that reason.
Despite the attacks, Ethereum officials didn’t participate in a public discussion of the situation, and an exact timeframe for ETH staking withdrawals was never voiced. In October, Ethereum developers began preparing for the update Shanghai, which is exactly to unlock staked ETH.
