The Ethereum Foundation has unstaked over 17,000 ETH valued at approximately $49 million, according to on-chain data from Arkham Intelligence. The transaction, which occurred on April 26, 2026, involved moving wrapped staked ETH (wstETH) into Lido's unstETH contract in batches of around 811 wstETH each. Once the Lido withdrawal queue processes, the funds will convert back to liquid ETH.
The timing of the unstaking has drawn particular attention, as it happened just as the Foundation was approaching its internal target of 70,000 staked ETH. Before the withdrawal, the Foundation had staked approximately 69,500 Ethereum, putting it just shy of that goal. The Foundation only began building its staking position in earnest from February 2026, starting with 2,016 ETH, adding 22,517 ETH in March, and then staking more than 45,000 ETH earlier this month. The policy to stake ETH was adopted in June 2025 with the stated goal of earning yield to fund protocol research, development, and ecosystem grants.
No official reason has been given for the unstaking, leading to speculation that the Foundation may be preparing to sell. This follows a recent 10,000 ETH over-the-counter sale to Bitmine Immersion Technologies. Some community members have expressed concern, with one user posting online that “The biggest seller of ETH continues to be the people who created ETH.” Analysts are now watching the $2,300–$2,400 price range for ETH, which they say could act as a key level determining near-term direction.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has previously warned that large-scale staking by the Foundation could create governance complications during contentious hard forks. The Foundation’s treasury decisions have historically triggered community debate, as past sell-offs drew criticism from ETH holders who viewed them as bearish signals, while the Foundation has maintained that periodic liquidations fund development grants and operational costs.
The on-chain evidence centers on the wallet 0x9fC3dc011b461664c835F2527fffb1169b3C213e, which is linked to the Ethereum Foundation through Arkham’s entity-labeling system. The data does not confirm the timing of any subsequent transfer to an exchange, the intended use of funds, or whether additional unstaking is planned.
