The Ethereum Foundation has begun staking part of its treasury. According to an announcement from Bitwise Asset Management, the foundation plans to stake up to 70,000 ETH using infrastructure developed by Bitwise’s Onchain Solutions unit.
The initiative will begin with an initial deposit of 2,016 ETH, with additional allocations expected over time.
At current market prices, the full staking program represents roughly $140 million worth of ETH.
Ethereum staking surpasses 37M ETH
The development comes as Ethereum’s staking ecosystem continues to expand rapidly.
Recent data shows that approximately 37.6 million ETH is currently staked, representing about 30.2% of the total circulating supply. The network now supports more than 1.17 million validators, reflecting the scale of participation in Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system.
These figures highlight how staking has become a core component of Ethereum’s economic model since the network transitioned to proof-of-stake in 2022.
As more ETH is locked in validator contracts, the freely circulating supply continues to decline.
Validator landscape dominated by large providers
Despite the growing number of validators, staking activity remains concentrated among several major providers.
Liquid staking protocol, Lido, currently holds the largest share of staked ETH. It controls about 22.9% of the staking market with more than 8.6 million ETH deposited.
Centralized exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase also rank among the largest staking operators, alongside restaking platforms like Ether.fi.
The concentration of stake among major operators has long been a point of discussion within the Ethereum community, particularly regarding decentralization and validator diversity.
Bitwise infrastructure selected for staking operations
To support the treasury staking initiative, the Ethereum Foundation will deploy open-source software originally developed by Attestant, a staking infrastructure provider acquired by Bitwise in 2024.
The Dirk distributed signer allows validators to operate across multiple jurisdictions while eliminating single points of failure.
Meanwhile, Vouch enables operators to run multiple validator clients simultaneously, helping reduce the risk of network-wide outages linked to software monocultures.
Bitwise executives described the foundation’s adoption of the tools as validation of the infrastructure’s security and resilience.
Treasury strategy evolves
The move also signals an evolving treasury strategy for the Ethereum Foundation, which historically relied on grants, ecosystem funding, and periodic asset sales to support development.
By staking a portion of its ETH reserves, the foundation can generate recurring staking rewards while continuing to contribute to network security.
At typical Ethereum staking yields of roughly 3–4% annually, a 70,000 ETH allocation could generate over 2,000 ETH in yearly rewards, depending on network conditions.
Final Summary
- The Ethereum Foundation has begun staking its treasury, with plans to deploy up to 70,000 ETH using Bitwise-developed infrastructure tools.
- The move comes as Ethereum staking surpasses 37 million ETH, with roughly 30% of the network’s supply now locked in validator contracts.
