The Ethereum Foundation has made its largest staking deployment to date, placing approximately $46.2 million worth of Ether into the Ethereum Beacon Deposit Contract. The foundation’s treasury multisignature wallet executed 11 separate deposits on Monday, each consisting of roughly 2,047 ETH, totaling 22,517 tokens. The transaction data was reported by Arkham Intelligence.
The foundation first began staking ETH in February, at that time depositing 2,016 ETH and announcing plans to stake as much as 70,000 ETH in total. Under that strategy, staking rewards are to be reinvested into research, ecosystem development, and grants rather than liquidated. An additional smaller deposit of 31 ETH was made earlier this month, bringing the foundation’s total staked holdings to approximately 24,564 ETH.
The shift toward staking represents a deliberate move away from periodic ETH sales, a practice that has historically attracted criticism from the broader community. By generating yield through staking, the foundation aims to fund its operations in a less disruptive manner. The latest deployment underscores the scale and pace at which this transition is now occurring.
The large staking move follows the foundation’s completion of an over-the-counter sale of 5,000 ETH to BitMine Immersion Technologies, valued at roughly $10.2 million. The foundation stated that proceeds from the sale would support core operations, including protocol research, ecosystem growth, and community grants. This transaction marked the second direct OTC sale the foundation has conducted with a corporate buyer.
The first such OTC deal involved a 10,000 ETH sale to SharpLink Gaming in July 2025. According to Arkham, the Ethereum Foundation currently holds approximately $361 million in onchain assets, with the overwhelming majority — around $360.8 million — held in Ether on the Ethereum network. Smaller balances are also maintained across networks including Arbitrum, Optimism, and Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, Ether’s market performance has come under pressure, with the token falling below the $2,000 level over the weekend. Several analysts, including Onur, CryptoWZRD, and Ted Pillows, highlighted repeated failures to break through the $2,200 resistance level and noted weakening momentum. Some of those analysts warned that ETH could decline further toward the $1,750 to $1,850 range.
Adding to the bearish outlook, demand for Ether has turned negative, reaching its lowest point in 16 months according to data from Capriole Investments. The combination of price weakness and declining demand presents a challenging backdrop even as the foundation ramps up its staking activity. Whether the foundation’s long-term staking strategy can help stabilize sentiment around the asset remains to be seen.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
