Crypto exchange Huobi is now one of the bigger withdrawers from the ethereum (ETH) staking contract, having pulled out over 50,000 ETH.
The exchange, however, started redepositing it from another wallet. So far it has returned 16,000 ETH into the contract following the recent Shanghai upgrade that requires a fresh set of validators.
Huobi tops entities withdrawing from Ethereum
Huobi is among the top entities withdrawing from Ethereum with a share of 28.3%, or 39,776 ETH. According to Nansen, the asset allocation manager, PieDAO (17%); and crypto exchange Kraken (5.88%), are third and fourth, respectively.
People familiar with the matter said Huobi’s large number of ETH-staked withdrawals is due to the handover of new and old shareholders. After the withdrawals open, Huobi founder Li Lin needs to handover. As such, some ETH may be withdrawn and redeposited.
ETH price surges following Shanghai Upgrade
Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency, ether or ETH, is up 13% in the last week, trading above $2,000 when writing. This upswing can be attributed to the long-awaited Shanghai upgrade.
ETH is now trading at around $2,088 after hitting a weekly high of $2,126 on April 14, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
The Shanghai upgrade, also known as the Shapella upgrade, continued the transition of the Ethereum network from a proof-of-work (PoW) to a more energy-efficient proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus.
The upgrade allowed stakers who secure the network to withdraw their stakes ETH along with the rewards they’ve accrued. The new consensus introduced a new breed of validators to keep the blockchain running.
Since this update mid this week, net withdrawal reached 33,000 ETH while deposits stood at 1,929 ETH, according to data from Token Unlock.
