The Ethereum Foundation has withdrawn more than 21,000 ETH from Lido staking weeks after carrying out earlier unstaking activity and multiple OTC treasury sales tied to operational funding.
Summary
- Ethereum Foundation withdrew 21,270 ETH from Lido weeks after earlier unstaking activity and OTC treasury sales.
- Recent Ethereum Foundation grants continued funding work tied to zero-knowledge research, validator security, and Ethereum core clients.
- Arkham said the latest unstaking move may relate to operational funding needs or rising concerns around third-party protocol risks after the Kelp DAO exploit.
According to blockchain analytics platform Arkham, an Ethereum Foundation-tagged wallet initiated the withdrawal of 21,270 ETH on Monday, an amount worth nearly $50 million at current prices. The transaction moved the funds out of Lido’s liquid staking system and into Ethereum’s withdrawal queue, where staked ETH remains locked until the unstaking process is completed.
Under Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system, validators stake ETH on the Beacon Chain to help secure the network and receive yield in return. Once an unstaking request is submitted through Lido, holders receive a withdrawal claim before the ETH becomes redeemable after the queue clears.
Earlier in late April, the foundation unstaked 17,035 ETH shortly after approaching its internal target of roughly 70,000 staked ETH. Arkham data at the time showed the organization depositing wrapped staked ETH into Lido’s unstETH contract, though the foundation did not publicly explain the reason behind the move.
Questions around treasury activity intensified after the nonprofit later sold 10,000 ETH to BitMine in an over-the-counter transaction completed on May 1. The deal, priced at an average of $2,292 per ETH, followed two previous OTC sales to BitMine in March and April, bringing total recent sales to 25,000 ETH.
In a statement accompanying the May transaction, the Ethereum Foundation said the sale would fund “core operations and activities,” including protocol research, ecosystem development, and community grants.
Treasury adjustments continue as staking policy evolves
Following criticism over past ETH sales, the foundation revised its treasury policy in June 2025 and said increased staking participation would help support long-term development funding while reducing dependence on direct market sales.
Since February, the organization has steadily expanded its staking position. Foundation wallets first staked 2,016 ETH, followed by another 22,517 ETH in March. During early April, more than 45,000 ETH was added, lifting the total staked balance to around 69,500 ETH before the first major withdrawal took place.
Arkham suggested the latest unstaking activity could be tied to funding requirements for ongoing network work. The analytics provider also pointed to rising concerns around third-party protocol risk following the $293 million Kelp DAO exploit involving rsETH-linked assets.
At the same time, parts of Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem have continued recovery efforts connected to the exploit. Earlier reports showed Aave coordinating support alongside Lido DAO, EtherFi Foundation, Mantle, and other groups after more than 116,000 restaked ETH tokens were affected.
Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, has previously warned about governance risks tied to large-scale foundation staking during disputed hard forks, particularly if the organization becomes too deeply involved in validator participation.
Foundation funding remains focused on infrastructure and ZK research
Alongside the treasury activity, the Ethereum Foundation has continued directing grants toward protocol infrastructure, zero-knowledge research, validator security, and developer tooling.
Its Q1 2026 allocation report included support for execution clients such as Geth and Erigon, upgrades tied to the Lighthouse consensus client, validator security systems including Vero, and node discovery work through DISC-NG.
Additional grants covered Poseidon hash analysis, research into algebraic attack vectors affecting ZK systems, quantum-resistant cryptography, and formal verification tied to RISC-V-based zkVM infrastructure.
Developer-focused funding also went toward WalletConnect clear-signing libraries, L2BEAT analytics tools, ERC ecosystem initiatives, DAO governance research, decentralized identity standards, and privacy tools, including Privacy Pool integrations and Tor-related work.
Separately, the foundation recently confirmed progress tied to Ethereum’s upcoming “Glamsterdam” update after establishing a 200 million gas limit floor. According to earlier reporting from crypto.news, the change could increase throughput significantly from Ethereum’s current 60 million gas limit environment.
