Node Pool withdrawals slower
If you use Node Pool, you’ve probably already seen the last update about delayed withdrawals. For anyone who would like more details, this post can help.
What happened?
As you know, the PRV you place in the Node Pool goes toward staking new Node Virtuals, the returns of which pay the Pool rewards, fund projects, pay operational costs for the nodes, etc. This means that the PRV is tied to the nodes it’s staking, and must be unstaked when you withdraw.
To allow for instant withdrawals, a pool of PRV was dedicated to withdrawals, which would be replenished once the unstaking occurs. It’s a method that worked well for normal deposit/withdraw levels, with room to spare.
However, there has been a substantial increase in Node Pool withdrawals recently, which has exhausted the reserve pool.
What does this mean?
This means that for now, withdrawals will come directly from unstaking nodes, and will be delayed. We’ve staggered Node unstakings to mitigate the wait time, so that you won’t have any chance of needing to wait a few weeks while Nodes cycle through the validator lifecycle.
The current estimated wait time for Node Pool withdrawals is 3 days or less.
Because of this, you’ll also notice a decrease in the number of validators on the network, and may have seen some already.
Is this permanent?
No. Once the larger amounts of pool withdrawals have been met, the reserve pool can be replenished and withdrawals can resume as normal.
Ultimately, the withdrawals/unstaking won’t have a potent effect on the health of the network or the project itself. The only adverse effect is the delay in the wait time, which has been mitigated as much as possible and will eventually return to normal. In the meantime, thanks for being patient!