The Ethereum Foundation (EF), the non-profit organization that is leading the development of the Ethereum ecosystem, staked over 45,000 Ether (ETH) on Friday, bringing the total amount staked to approximately 69,500 ETH, which is less than 500 coins below the Foundation’s goal of 70,000.
According to data, EF staked the coins in a series of trades, each involving 2,047 ETH, and the total amount staked on Friday was over $92.2 million. data from Arkham Intelligence.
EF began investing in ETH in February as part of the renewed treasury policy announced in June 2025, and will apply the generated yield to fund protocol research, development and ecosystem grants. EF said in its updated fiscal report policy: :
“We are now increasingly shifting to staking and DeFi, both to increase financial stability and to support a key application category that delivers on the promise of secure and permissionless access to the essential infrastructure of civilization for millions of people.”
In February, the foundation staked 2,016 ETH worth approximately $4.1 million, followed by 22,517 ETH in March worth approximately $46.1 million. According to Arkham Intelligence, EF has locked over $143 million in ETH as part of the Ethereum Beacon deposit agreement.
The adoption of a profit-making treasury strategy came about due to pressure from the Ethereum community for EF to generate income from its treasury to cover expenses, rather than continually selling tokens to fund operations.
Related: The Ethereum Foundation sells $10.2 million worth of ETH to BitMine in an OTC transaction
Vitalik Buterin warns that EF staking may force positions in difficult forks
Validators who lock tokens to secure a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain network can influence which chain will be valid in the event of a network hardfork or split of the network into two competing chains.
“If EF is betting on us, it effectively forces us to take a stance on any future controversial hard fork” – Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin he said in January 2025
EF is exploring ways to mitigate centralization risks from staking activity in the event of the controversial difficult fork, Buterin added.
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