The Ethereum Foundation has begun staking a portion of its treasury, depositing 2,016 ETH today as the first tranche of a broader plan to stake approximately 70,000 ETH. All staking rewards will be directed back to the EF treasury to fund protocol R&D, ecosystem development, and community grants, effectively replacing years of controversial ETH sell-offs with protocol-native yield.
At current prices, the full 70,000 ETH commitment represents roughly $128M locked into validators rather than sold on the open market.
Why Ethereum Foundation Is Staking Instead of Selling ETH
The Foundation sold approximately 36,000 ETH via CoW Swap throughout 2025, triggering repeated community backlash. A $650M wallet transfer in October 2025 sparked dump fears, forcing co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang to clarify it was a planned migration.
Staking changes that dynamic entirely. Based on the CoinDesk Composite Ether Staking Rate (CESR), the current ETH staking yield is approximately 2.808%. On 70,000 ETH, that translates to roughly $3.6M per year flowing into the treasury without a single token being sold.
Also Read: Bitmine’s $8.8B Ethereum Loss Now Worse Than FTX, Analysts Warn of ‘Structural Impairment’
How the EF Built Its Validator Setup
The Foundation is using open-source tools Dirk and Vouch by Attestant. Dirk acts as a distributed signer across multiple jurisdictions, removing single points of failure. Vouch supports multi-client pairings to reduce client diversity risks.
The Ethereum Foundation said:
“We are excited to take this important step, which helps secure the Ethereum network and at the same time fund the EF’s core operations & activities, including protocol R&D, ecosystem development, community grant funding and more.”
The setup employs minority clients across hosted and self-managed hardware in several countries.
What 70,000 ETH Off the Market Means for Ethereum Price
The Foundation’s shift to staking comes as co-founder Vitalik Buterin moves in the opposite direction, selling over 10,700 ETH worth $21.7M in February alone. ETH is trading near $1,821, down 37% over the past month.
Arkham Intelligence data shows the EF still holds 172,650 ETH plus 10,000 WETH. Staking the full 70,000 would lock roughly 38% of its total ETH holdings out of liquid circulation, reducing one of the largest known sources of recurring sell pressure on Ethereum.
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