Key TakeawaysOver 17,000 ETH valued at roughly $49 million was unstaked by the Ethereum Foundation this past SaturdayThe withdrawal was executed through Lido’s unstETH smart contract and will become liquid ETH after queue processingThis action occurred right before the Foundation was set to hit its 70,000 ETH staking milestoneThe Foundation has not provided any public explanation, leading to speculation about possible liquidation plansA recent over-the-counter sale of 10,000 ETH to Bitmine Immersion Technologies was completed by the FoundationAccording to blockchain intelligence data from Arkham Intelligence, the Ethereum Foundation withdrew 17,035 ETH—valued at approximately $49 million—during the weekend. The operation consisted of transferring wrapped staked ETH (wstETH) into Lido’s unstETH smart contract through multiple transactions, each containing roughly 811 wstETH.THE ETHEREUM FOUNDATION IS UNSTAKING ETHThe Ethereum Foundation is unstaking $48.9M ETH. They just deposited WSTETH to the Lido unstETH contract and will receive unstaked ETH once the unlocking process is completed.Are they going to sell this ETH as well? pic.twitter.com/qsfrA9Cj7c— Arkham (@arkham) April 26, 2026After Lido’s withdrawal queue completes its processing cycle, these funds will become liquid ETH once again. As of now, the Foundation has remained silent on the rationale behind this significant withdrawal.The circumstances surrounding this unstaking event have caught considerable attention. The withdrawal took place precisely when the Foundation was on the verge of achieving its self-imposed benchmark of 70,000 staked ETH. Prior to initiating the withdrawal, the Foundation held approximately 69,500 Ethereum in staking, leaving it just short of that objective.The Foundation’s aggressive staking strategy only commenced in February 2026. Its initial stake contained 2,016 ETH, followed by an additional 22,517 ETH deposited in March, and subsequently more than 45,000 ETH staked earlier in the current month.The strategic decision to stake ETH was formally approved in June 2025. The declared purpose was to generate returns that would support protocol advancement, research initiatives, and ecosystem development grants.Market Concerns Over Potential LiquidationThis withdrawal has reignited concerns within the community regarding potential selling pressure. Several observers have highlighted that the Foundation has been conducting private over-the-counter transactions lately, including a recent disposal of 10,000 ETH to Bitmine Immersion Technologies.“The biggest seller of ETH continues to be the people who created ETH,” one user posted online.Market analysts are closely monitoring the $2,300–$2,400 price zone for ETH, identifying this range as a critical threshold that could determine short-term market momentum.Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has previously expressed concerns that extensive staking activities by the Foundation might introduce governance challenges during controversial network upgrades.DeFi Community Rallies Amid Security CrisisIn parallel developments, the Ethereum DeFi space is grappling with consequences from a devastating $293 million security breach targeting the Kelp restaking protocol. Attackers extracted more than 116,000 restaked ETH tokens and leveraged them as collateral for borrowing operations, creating approximately $195 million in uncollateralized debt on Aave.A collaborative initiative named “DeFi United,” spearheaded by Aave, has committed over 43,500 ETH (approximately $101 million) toward stabilizing rsETH. Contributing organizations include Lido DAO, Golem Foundation, EtherFi Foundation, and Mantle.The latest verified on-chain transaction by the Ethereum Foundation remains the $49 million unstaking operation executed on Saturday, April 26, 2026.The post Ethereum Foundation Pulls $49M Worth of ETH from Staking: What’s Behind the Move? appeared first on Blockonomi.