The Ethereum Foundation has initiated staking operations using approximately 70,000 ETH from its treasury on Tuesday, February 24, implementing the treasury policy introduced last year.
Rewards generated by validators will flow back into the foundation’s reserves, marking a strategic shift toward native yield generation. The move deepens economic alignment with Ethereum’s proof-of-stake consensus model while reinforcing funding sustainability objectives.
The foundation chose the open-source tools Dirk and Vouch following an evaluation of various staking tools. Dirk is used as a distributed signer that distributes validator responsibilities across different geographic areas to prevent single points of failure.
Vouch allows for various combinations of Beacon and Execution Clients to be used, which helps to prevent client concentration problems. The infrastructure consists of hosted services and self-managed hardware located in various jurisdictions.
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Ethereum Foundation Staking Drives Validator Efficiency
Validators use Type 2 withdrawal credentials, which bring operational efficiencies and governance flexibility. Consolidation of balances is also possible, which allows for quicker responses to custody changes.
Higher balances also mean fewer signing keys, which reduces the complexity. The exits remain available via the withdrawal addresses, even when the system is offline. These changes bring scalability and lower complexity, as they incorporate the evolving nature of the validator design.
The Ethereum Foundation, by staking assets, becomes an active player in the consensus mechanism, rather than a passive holder of assets, which earns it a yield in ETH but also makes it susceptible to risks and realities faced by validators, such as independent stakers.
The initial validator deposits are publicly disclosed on the blockchain, with more to follow, which speaks to the transparency, institutional support, and overall security of the economics surrounding the network.
Ethereum Price Eyes $1,800 as Bearish Pressure Builds
Even with the announced staking plan, the downward movement of Ethereum has continued this week, with the price of ETH dipping towards the important $1,800 mark, which is closely monitored by traders.
According to the crypto analyst Ted, even though the price has been approaching the zone that could be a potential support level for the asset, the buying force has been limited so far.
Source: Ted X Post
Ted also mentions that weak reactions near support often result in liquidity-driven moves, in which the price falls to levels even below previous lows. Ethereum might follow this pattern and trade through the month’s bottom range.
However, this kind of volatility often precedes recovery attempts. A strong test of lower levels might result in bounce-back potential in the near future.
Also Read: Ethereum’s Historic 5,600% Surge vs. Today’s Compressed Gains: What Changed