The Ethereum Foundation deposited about 45,034 ETH into staking on April 3, 2026, pushing its cumulative staked balance to nearly 69,500 ETH and bringing the nonprofit to the edge of its 70,000 ETH treasury staking target. At a market price near $2,059, the latest deposits were worth roughly $93 million.
Onchain data tracked by Arkham Intelligence shows the transfers moved from the foundation’s multisig wallet to the Beacon Chain deposit contract. The deposits arrived in multiple batches, many sized at 2,047 ETH. After this round, the foundation had around $143 million worth of ETH securing the proof-of-stake network through active validators.
Treasury strategy shifts away from routine ETH sales
The foundation announced its Treasury Staking Initiative on Feb. 24, 2026, following a treasury policy update adopted in June 2025. The plan is to stake about 70,000 ETH and use native protocol yield instead of relying as heavily on asset sales.
The change came after extended criticism from parts of the Ethereum community over the foundation’s practice of selling ETH to cover annual operating costs estimated at about $100 million. Based on an institutional staking yield of 2.7% to 3.8%, the foundation said the full 70,000 ETH allocation could generate around $3.9 million to $5.4 million per year. Returns could rise if MEV rewards are added.
April deposit follows two earlier staking rounds
The program started with an initial deposit of 2,016 ETH around Feb. 24-25. A second large round on March 30-31 added 22,517 ETH across 11 transactions, taking the cumulative total at that stage to roughly 24,623 ETH, then valued near $50 million.
The April 3 transfer was the biggest step so far. It moved the foundation within striking distance of its full target without exhausting its treasury reserves. Before the latest deposits, Arkham’s records showed the foundation held about 102,400 ETH across roughly 14 tracked addresses. It also held other assets, including USDC, BNB, and bitcoin, which gives it room to manage liquidity outside the staked ETH position.
Validator setup uses open-source tooling and Type 2 credentials
The foundation said all staking rewards will flow back to the treasury and be used for protocol research, ecosystem grants, and daily operations. Its validator infrastructure runs on open-source tools Dirk and Vouch. Dirk distributes signing across multiple geographic regions, while Vouch supports a broader mix of Beacon and Execution client pairings to reduce concentration risk.
The setup also uses minority clients and a blend of hosted and self-managed hardware across different jurisdictions. Validators rely on Type 2 withdrawal credentials, a structure that allows transferable balances and reduces the number of signing keys required. With a maximum effective balance of 2,048 ETH per validator, the foundation would need about 35 signing keys to manage the full position.