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Ethereum Foundation Breaks Its Own Record with $46.2 Million ETH Staking

Ethereum Foundation (EF) has staked Ether
ETHUSD
worth approximately $46.2 million, based on on-chain data from Arkham Intelligence. This deposit becomes the largest single staking ever conducted by the organization.

This transaction marks a sharp acceleration of the Foundation's treasury staking initiative, which began in late February with an initial deposit of only 2,016 ETH valued at around $3.8 million.

EF Moves from First Deposit to All-Time High Stake

EF announced its staking plan on February 24, 2026, targeting around 70,000 ETH.

The initial deposit was simple, but the Foundation has consistently indicated that subsequent allocations will follow soon.

At the current ETH price near $2,000 per ETH, the full target of 70,000 ETH represents more than US$140 million in assets staked.

The $46.2 million deposit reported by Arkham today brings this staking program closer to reaching that goal.

On-chain tracker Lookonchain also highlighted this transaction, noting that its value far exceeds all previous EF staking actions.

Why the Foundation Is Staking Instead of Selling

For years, EF relied on periodically selling ETH to fund operations, which drew consistent criticism from the community.

Each sale exerted downward pressure on the price and fueled speculation about the organization’s long-term commitment.

The shift to staking addresses these two issues.

By locking ETH in validators, the Foundation can earn (yield) without reducing their treasury balance.
Staking rewards will return to the treasury to fund protocol research, ecosystem development, and community grant programs.
This program uses open-source tools from Attestant, acquired by Bitwise Asset Management in 2024. The infrastructure employs distributed signing across various jurisdictions and minority validator clients to minimize the risk of single points of failure.

Currently, Ethereum has over 38 million ETH staked across approximately 1.17 million validators, meaning about 30% of the total circulating ETH supply is staked.

Stronger Signals During Difficult Times

This record deposit comes amid a turbulent phase for ETH. Its price sharply declined in early 2026, falling from over $4,800 at the end of 2025 to a low of around $1,473 in February.

Co-founder Vitalik Buterin also sold millions of ETH privately during that period, increasing community concerns.

In this context, the Foundation’s decision to deploy their largest staking effort sends a different signal.

Rather than maximizing liquidity, the organization chooses to lock in capital directly to secure the network.

How quickly subsequent deposits are made will determine how fast EF can reach the 70,000 ETH target and how much (yield) can be generated moving forward.