Key Highlights

  • Ethereum Foundation reaches 69,500 staked ETH, positioning itself within 500 ETH of the 70,000 milestone
  • The Beacon Deposit Contract now secures more than $143 million in ETH
  • Current ETH price hovers around $2,050 with critical support at $2,000 and resistance between $2,150–$2,200
  • Weekly spot ETF withdrawals totaled $42.1 million, including a $53.3 million sale by BlackRock
  • Korean retail traders show buying interest, reflected in a positive Korea Premium Index reading

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) executed a major staking operation on Friday, depositing more than 45,000 ETH through multiple transactions of 2,047 ETH each. The operation elevated the foundation’s total staked holdings to approximately 69,500 ETH — leaving fewer than 500 ETH remaining to reach the announced 70,000 target.

Source: Arkham

Friday’s staking activity represented over $92.2 million in value, based on figures from Arkham Intelligence. The foundation’s cumulative stake in the Ethereum Beacon Deposit Contract now exceeds $143 million.

This staking initiative launched in February following a treasury management strategy unveiled in June 2025. The approach allows the foundation to leverage staking rewards for financing protocol development, research initiatives, and ecosystem grants while avoiding ETH liquidations for operational expenses.

Ethereum (ETH) Price
Ethereum (ETH) Price

The foundation’s staking timeline shows 2,016 ETH deposited in February, 22,517 ETH added in March, and Friday’s substantial contribution completing the sequence.

Co-founder Vitalik Buterin previously highlighted a potential complication with this model. His January 2025 comments pointed out that foundation staking would inherently require choosing sides during any controversial hard fork scenario. The foundation acknowledges this concern and continues exploring mitigation strategies.

Price Action Maintains $2,000 Floor Amid Selling Momentum

ETH trades in the vicinity of $2,050 at present. The $2,000 price point has demonstrated strength as a support floor, withstanding several challenges over recent weeks as buyers stepped in at that threshold.

Ethereum’s net taker volume has shifted into significant negative territory, indicating intensified aggressive selling activity within derivatives trading platforms. The current downward pressure ranks among the most pronounced sell-side dominance observed in weeks, aligning with approximately $1 billion in aggregate selling pressure across trading venues.

The price continues trading beneath the Ichimoku cloud formation, where the cloud functions as resistance above current levels. The RSI indicator hovers near neutral territory, suggesting neither buyers nor sellers have established definitive momentum control.

ETF Capital Movements and Retail Activity Patterns

Analyst Ted Pillows shared data on X revealing that Ethereum spot ETF products experienced $42.1 million in net withdrawals during the week, with BlackRock accounting for $53.3 million in ETH sales alone.

Concurrently, South Korean retail participants demonstrate accumulation behavior during price weakness. The Korea Premium Index has crossed into positive territory at approximately 0.6, indicating Korean market participants are accepting prices above global benchmarks for ETH purchases.

Withdrawals from spot products persist as the dominant global pattern, punctuated by occasional brief inflow periods that have yet to alter the overarching direction.

ETH faces resistance barriers at $2,150 and $2,200. Breaking and holding above $2,200 would establish pathways toward $2,300 and $2,400 levels. Conversely, failure to maintain the $2,000 support could trigger testing of $1,900 and $1,800 zones.