The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has taken a significant step by beginning to stake a portion of its treasury, implementing a strategic shift in the management of its ETH reserves. This initiative is in line with the treasury policy the organization established last year, designed to ensure long-term sustainability while adhering to Ethereum”s guiding principles. The staking process commenced with an initial deposit of 2,016 ETH, and the foundation plans to stake a total of approximately 70,000 ETH, with all rewards reinvested into the treasury.
According to the EF, the rewards generated from staking will be crucial in financing core operations, which encompass protocol research and development, ecosystem expansion, and community grant initiatives. This approach marks a departure from the previous passive holding of ETH, allowing the foundation to actively contribute to network security while generating yield.
Recent insights from Arkham Intelligence indicated that the EF manages around $371 million in assets, with approximately $314 million held in ETH. The decision to stake part of these assets comes in response to increasing community demands for improved treasury management practices.
To facilitate its staking activities, the foundation is utilizing open-source tools named Dirk and Vouch, developed by the infrastructure firm Attestant, a subsidiary of Bitwise Onchain Solutions. Dirk acts as a distributed signer, enabling validator operations across various jurisdictions and minimizing the risk of a single point of failure. Meanwhile, Vouch coordinates validators and supports multiple client pairings, which helps mitigate the risks associated with client diversity.
The EF has emphasized that its staking setup incorporates minority clients and a combination of self-managed hardware and hosted infrastructure across different countries, thereby enhancing decentralization and resilience.
This move follows a period of criticism regarding the foundation”s previous ETH sales and calls for greater transparency in its treasury management. Recently, Vitalik Buterin, one of Ethereum”s co-founders, disclosed that he sold over 10,000 ETH and allocated 16,384 ETH to support various ecosystem projects during what he referred to as a “moderate austerity” phase. The foundation”s decision to stake these assets reflects a pivot towards generating yield and promoting long-term sustainability, especially in light of ETH”s notable price fluctuations in recent months.
By staking 70,000 ETH, the Ethereum Foundation not only secures the network but also establishes a continuous income stream to support ongoing development efforts.
