TL;DR
- There are two kinds of withdrawals:
- Partial withdrawals: automatically skim any balance above your validator’s effective balance (typically 32 ETH unless you opted for a higher cap after Pectra; see below) to your withdrawal address.
- Full withdrawals: after you exit and become withdrawable, the protocol pays out your validator’s full effective balance to your withdrawal address.
- You must have 0x01 or 0x02 withdrawal credentials (execution address) to receive either partial or full withdrawals.
- Payouts are processed by the protocol in the background, at a limited rate per slot. This can take from minutes to multiple days depending on global queues.
- You can verify status and payouts on beaconcha.in: use your validator page (status, epochs) and your withdrawal address page → Withdrawals tab.
The withdrawal lifecycle
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Active → Exiting
- You (or an authorized party) submit a voluntary exit for your validator.
- Your validator stays active until the exit is processed by the consensus layer (subject to churn limits).
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Exited → Withdrawable
- After the exit is finalized, the validator becomes withdrawable at a specific epoch (withdrawable_epoch).
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Withdrawable → Paid
- The consensus layer includes your validator in the withdrawal queue.
- The execution layer credits your withdrawal address in the block/slot where your withdrawal is processed.
- Credits appear as “Withdrawals” in the block, not as normal transactions.
Credential requirements (critical)
- 0x01 or 0x02 withdrawal credentials (to an execution address) are required for both partial and full withdrawals to be paid.
- If you still have 0x00 (BLS) credentials, you must perform a credential update to 0x01 first. Until then, the protocol cannot pay out to your execution address.
Partial vs full withdrawals
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Partial withdrawals
- Trigger: Your validator’s actual balance exceeds its effective balance.
- Amount: Only the excess above effective balance is skimmed to your withdrawal address.
- Timing: Processed automatically and continuously by the protocol when eligible; batched at a limited rate per slot.
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Full withdrawals
- Trigger: Your validator is exited, and has reached its withdrawable epoch.
- Amount: Your entire effective balance is paid to your withdrawal address in a withdrawal entry when processed; if a block hits its withdrawal limit, your entry is included in a later block.
- Timing: Subject to the same per-slot processing limits; can take up to several days.
How long will my payout take after exit?
Timing depends on:- Exit churn: How many validators are exiting around the same time (there is a limit per epoch).
- Withdrawal throughput: The protocol processes only a limited number of withdrawals each slot.
- Your place in the queue.
FAQ
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I exited but don’t see my ETH yet. What’s happening?
- Check your validator page: are you withdrawable yet? If yes, the payout is waiting for its turn in the withdrawal queue.
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Will partial withdrawals continue after I exit?
- After you exit and become withdrawable, your full withdrawal is paid. Partial withdrawals are a mechanism for active validators; once fully withdrawn, the validator no longer receives partial skims.
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Do withdrawals cost gas or require me to send a transaction?
- No. Withdrawals are protocol-driven credits included in blocks as part of the consensus process.
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I still have 0x00 credentials—can I get paid?
- Not until you update to 0x01 credentials. Perform the credential change first; then partial/full withdrawals can be processed to your execution address.
Troubleshooting
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My validator shows “exited” but not “withdrawable”
- Wait for finality and the withdrawable epoch. Large exit waves can add delay due to churn limits.
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beaconcha.in shows a withdrawal to my address, but my wallet balance looks unchanged
- Some wallets cache balances—refresh and wait a few confirmations. Confirm the credit in the address’s Withdrawals tab and on the slot page.