MetaMask is pulling Ethereum validators out of service after a security incident diverted staking rewards, and Lido warns affected validators could miss payouts for up to about 45 days. The wallet provider says it has found no immediate threat to user funds, while a researcher estimates roughly 523,000 ETH sits in validators now exiting as a precaution.
MetaMask began exiting Ethereum validators after a security incident diverted payments from block production to an unexpected address, the wallet provider disclosed Wednesday. The company said it has identified no immediate threat to MetaMask wallets but pulled the affected infrastructure as a precaution.
Researcher flags diverted payments
Ethereum security researcher Kaden said on X that 18 of 19 MetaMask-operated validators that had earned block-production payments sent those payments to an unexpected address, estimating about 0.36 ETH had been diverted. Kaden's analysis put the precautionary exits at roughly 17,000 validators holding about 523,000 ETH. MetaMask had not confirmed those figures or explained how its systems were compromised as of Asian afternoon hours Thursday.
Staking lets holders earn ETH by committing coins to help secure the network, while operators such as MetaMask run the computers that do the work. A validator also holds a separate address for receiving transaction-fee payments when it produces a block, and changing that destination can divert income without touching where the staked coins themselves can be withdrawn.
Lost rewards during exit and re-entry
Lido, which pools users' ETH for staking, said early Wednesday that MetaMask-operated validators had begun leaving its system, with the last expected to stop staking by Oct. 7. Withdrawing the coins and putting them back into staking could take up to about 45 days because of the queue to enter Ethereum's staking system, and affected validators would miss rewards while out of service.
According to Lido: "No action is required from stETH holders." Its stETH token represents users' pooled stake and accumulated rewards.
Large wallet movements also drew attention amid the disclosures. Blockchain tracker Lookonchain reported that a wallet it linked to Ethereum cofounder Joseph Lubin transferred 133,298 ETH, worth about $356 million, to a new address, though it was not immediately clear whether the move was connected to MetaMask's response.
Ethena, the company behind the USDe token, also withdrew funds from lending platform Morpho amid the disclosures, including about $75 million from a vault holding Ripple's RLUSD and $60 million from one holding PayPal's PYUSD. A source close to Ethena said the withdrawals were precautionary, and the company has since redeployed the funds after receiving clarity on the situation.
Source: CoinDesk
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