The mechanism
Proof-of-stake systems delay exits on purpose — unbonding periods from days to weeks — so stake cannot flee mid-attack. The security logic is sound; the market consequence is a float split into fast and slow tranches: liquid supply that trades now, and bonded supply that can only join any exodus after a timer.
Crashes with a lag tail
In a sharp decline, the first wave of selling is liquid float only. Unbond requests spike behind it, then mature into supply days later — a scheduled second wave that arrives after the panic, pressing recoveries just as they start. High-staking-ratio coins like DOT and ATOM carry this signature structurally.
The wrapper shortcut and its price
Liquid staking tokens exist to bypass the queue — sell the receipt instead of unbonding. But in stress the receipt trades at a discount to the underlying precisely because the queue still exists underneath: the discount IS the market pricing the exit delay, a live gauge of how badly holders want out.
Reading it
Know a coin’s unbonding period and staking ratio before sizing a position; watch unbond-queue data as a forward supply calendar in stress; and read LST discounts as the fear gauge they mechanically are.