Ethereum Foundation Unstakes $48.9M -- Will Selling Pressure Follow?

Ethereum Foundation unstaking activity is back in focus after the organization pulled $48.9 million worth of ETH from Lido's staking contract, a move that comes just days after a $23.8 million OTC sale rattled observers watching the foundation's treasury. The foundation still holds over $215 million in ETH, and the question now is whether this round of unstaking signals another sell-off or something more calculated.

What the Ethereum Foundation's $48.9M Unstaking Actually Means

The foundation deposited wstETH into the Lido unstETH contract to receive liquid ETH, according to Arkham on-chain data. This is the first time the foundation has unstaked since it originally staked 22,517 ETH, valued at roughly $46 million, back in early March. The timing, coming right after a high-profile OTC sale on April 24, has traders wondering if another dump is coming.

To their credit, the foundation has been disciplined about HOW it sells. OTC channels, not public order books. That approach has kept direct exchange supply pressure muted, and the numbers back it up: the ETH Exchange Supply Ratio currently sits at 0.122, the lowest level recorded since 2016. A falling Exchange Supply Ratio means coins are leaving exchanges, buyers are absorbing supply faster than sellers can add it.

Does the Broader Staking Picture Still Hold?

Despite the foundation's moves and the recent AAVE depositor crisis, Lido staking demand has not collapsed. A total of 39.2 million ETH, 31.5% of the entire supply, is currently staked, with 23% of that running through Lido specifically. Stakers are earning yield in a market where price gains have been hard to come by, and that trade-off is clearly still attractive to most holders.

On the price side, ETH's RSI was sitting at 55 at press time, above the neutral 50 mark, though a bearish crossover had formed. The Momentum Shift indicator held positive throughout April. Combined, these readings suggest buyers remain active even as the foundation runs its liquidation program in the background. If bulls can keep ETH above $2.3K, the next target is a flip of $2.4K resistance and a push toward $2.5K.

The risk is real, though. On April 11, a foundation sale pushed ETH from $2.3K down to $2.1K in a hurry. If the foundation moves from unstaking to selling again, and the ETH exchange supply ratio starts climbing back, that $2,250 level becomes the line to watch on the downside.