Ethereum Foundation fast-tracks 70,000 ETH staking initiative following BitMine transaction
In a major treasury move, the Ethereum Foundation allocated $46.2 million worth of ETH through 11 separate deposits, ramping up its ambitious 70,000 ETH staking initiative.
In a significant acceleration of its treasury management strategy, the Ethereum Foundation has ramped up its staking operations, committing $46.2 million in Ether through its most substantial deployment to date, which follows closely on the heels of the BitMine sale transaction.
According to data tracked by Arkham Intelligence, the foundation's treasury multisignature wallet executed 11 separate deposits on Monday into the Ethereum Beacon Deposit Contract, with each deposit containing approximately 2,047 Ether (ETH), culminating in a total transfer of 22,517 tokens valued at approximately $46.2 million.
The staking initiative was first launched by the Ethereum Foundation in February, when it deposited 2,016 ETH and revealed its strategy to stake as much as 70,000 ETH, with all generated rewards being channeled back into research activities, ecosystem development initiatives and grant programs.
Additionally, the foundation made a more modest deposit of 31 ETH earlier in the month, pushing the aggregate staked holdings to approximately 24,564 ETH as the organization transitions toward staking as a yield-generation mechanism, moving away from the periodic ETH sales strategy that has consistently attracted criticism from the community.
EF sells 5,000 ETH to BitMine in OTC deal
This latest staking activity follows the EF's completion of an over-the-counter (OTC) transaction involving 5,000 Ether with BitMine Immersion Technologies, a deal worth approximately $10.2 million. According to the foundation, the funds generated from this sale will be allocated toward supporting core operational activities, including protocol research initiatives, ecosystem expansion efforts and community grant distributions.
This particular transaction represents the foundation's second direct OTC sale to a corporate entity, coming after a previous 10,000 ETH sale to SharpLink Gaming that took place in July 2025.
Based on Arkham data, the EF maintains approximately $361 million in onchain assets currently, with the overwhelming majority, around $360.8 million, held in Ether on the Ethereum network itself, in addition to minor balances distributed across various networks including Arbitrum, Optimism and Bitcoin.
Ether price risks further decline
Over the weekend, Ether dropped beneath the $2,000 threshold, elevating concerns about the potential for a more significant correction ahead. Multiple analysts, including Onur, CryptoWZRD and Ted Pillows, highlighted the repeated rejection at the $2,200 resistance level and deteriorating momentum indicators, with several experts cautioning that ETH could potentially decline toward the $1,750–$1,850 price range.
According to data from Capriole Investments, demand for Ether has also shifted into negative territory, reaching its weakest level in 16 months.