Unbonding Period

The unbonding period, also called the exit or withdrawal queue, is the delay between requesting to unstake and receiving tokens back as a freely transferable balance. Networks impose it so that a validator cannot misbehave and instantly withdraw before the misbehaviour is detected and slashed; the bond must stay reachable long enough to be punished. Lengths differ by protocol, from a few days to several weeks, and exits are often rate-limited so only a set number of validators can leave in each period. During unbonding the assets usually earn nothing and cannot be sold, so the staker carries full price risk with no way out. Liquid staking tokens exist partly to work around this delay.