Ethereum Foundation Wins 17K ETH After Approaching 70K Staking Goal
The Ethereum Foundation moved to partially reverse its stake shortly after ETH neared its 70,000-share target.
On Saturday, the Ethereum Foundation received 17,035.326 ETH, roughly $40 million, according to Arkham data. The move involves depositing the sealed ETH (wstETH) into the Lido unstETH contract, with the expectation that the ETH will be returned once the withdrawal queue is completed.
In Ethereum, mining is the process of withdrawing ETH that was previously locked to secure the network through validators. When ETH is held, it is stored into the Ethereum Beacon Chain where it remains locked while earning rewards. For withdrawal, a withdrawal request is initiated, and the funds enter a queue period after which the funds are released.
Source: Arkham
The Ethereum Foundation has yet to explain why it has released 17,000 ETH, which has led some users to speculate that it is preparing to sell. “The biggest seller of ETH continues to be the people who created ETH,” wrote one user.
Related: Another DeFi Protocol Hacked As Sui-Based Volo Hits $3.5M Exploit
The Ethereum Foundation is approaching the goal of 70K distributed ETH
EF has started stockpiling ETH after updating its policy in June 2025. At the time, the foundation said it would help support financial participation and decentralized protocol research, development and ecosystem grants.
Since February, the foundation has continuously expanded its position, initially with 2,016 ETH, followed by 22,517 ETH in March. Earlier this month, the foundation raised more than 45,000 ETH in a series of transactions, bringing the total to 69,500 ETH, just shy of its 70,000 ETH growth target.
However, there are still risks associated with management risks. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin warned that the foundation's large-scale stock raising could complicate neutrality in hard forks where competing chains could emerge.
Related: Ethereum Risks 10% Dip Versus Bitcoin Despite ETH Staking Milestone
DeFi protocols converge to support rsETH.
As Cointelegraph reports, decentralized finance protocols have joined forces to stabilize rETH after a $293 million exploit on the Kelp Restoration platform led to a market disruption. The incident saw hackers steal more than 116,000 recaptured ETH tokens and use them as collateral to borrow money, leaving Ave with nearly $195 million in bad debt and crowding the broader DeFi lending market.
Backers have contributed more than 43,500 ETH (around $101 million) to the “DeFi United” effort led by Ave, with major contributions from Lido Dao, Golem Foundation, and EtherFi Foundation and Mantle.
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