Ethereum Foundation unstakes $50M in ETH amid treasury shift

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) unstaked 21,270 Ether (ETH) from Lido, worth nearly $50 million, as the nonprofit continues to adjust how it manages part of its treasury.

The EF-tagged wallet initiated the withdrawal Monday, according to blockchain analytics company Arkham, moving staked ETH exposure out of Lido’s liquid staking protocol and into the withdrawal process.

Unstaking means that the tokens will be withdrawn from Ethereum’s Beacon Chain, where they were previously locked to acquire passive yield and secure the network.

The move does not necessarily mean the foundation is preparing to sell. Lido withdrawals place staked ETH or wrapped staked ETH into a queue, giving the holder a claim on ETH once the request is finalized and claimed.

The decision comes weeks after the EF first unstaked 17,000 ETH in late April, before selling 10,000 ETH to the largest corporate ETH holder, Bitmine, in an OTC deal on May 1. 

Cointelegraph has reached out to the Ethereum Foundation for comment. 

Ethereum Foundation unstakes ETH. Source: Arkham

Treasury policy allows reallocations

The withdrawal marks a fresh adjustment to the foundation’s staking strategy after it began putting part of its treasury to work earlier this year. It updated its treasury policy in June 2025, saying that greater staking participation will enable the funding of protocol development.

The policy update also said that the EF plans to limit its ETH sales, following previous community backlash.

The foundation began gradually expanding its staked ETH position since February, initially staking 2,016 ETH, followed by 22,517 ETH in March, and over 45,000 ETH in early April, bringing its total to about 69,500 staked ETH.

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Arkham said the unstaking may have occurred due to the foundation's need for funds to further develop the network. The analytics provider also speculated that the move may be related to a wider loss of faith in the security of third-party protocols following the $293 million Kelp DAO exploit. 

The development comes shortly after the EF announced achieving a significant milestone related to the “Glamsterdam” update, establishing a 200 million gas limit floor, giving the network a significant post-upgrade speed boost from its current 60 million gas limit. The foundation also names three new leads for its Protocol team, Cointelegraph reported earlier on Tuesday.

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