Key Highlights
- On February 24, Ethereum witnessed a surge of 4%, soaring its price above $1,908
- This surge comes despite the sale of Ethereum by Vitalik Buterin
- On Feb 24, the Ethereum Foundation announced the beginning of the staking of a portion of its treasury
The second biggest cryptocurrency, Ethereum (ETH), surged by over 4%, soaring to $1,908.10 on a daily chart. This surge shocked the crypto community as it came despite Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin selling 4,325 Ethereum worth $8 million in the last 3 days.
JUST IN: Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin sold 4,325 ETH worth $8 million over the past 3 days. pic.twitter.com/GcD2vJMpti
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) February 24, 2026
The rally comes after Ethereum’s bad year-to-date performance, where it plunged around 35% in 2026. This is one of its worst performances.
Ethereum Foundation Deposits First Batch of 2,016 ETH in Treasury
One of the major factors behind this surge came from the Ethereum Foundation. On February 24, the EF announced the beginning of the staking of a portion of its treasury, where it deposited the first batch of 2,016 ETH. This is worth around $3.7 to $3.8 million at the time.
1/ The Ethereum Foundation has begun staking a portion of its treasury, in line with its Treasury Policy announced last year.
Today, the EF made a 2016 ETH deposit. Approximately 70,000 ETH will be staked with rewards directed back to the EF treasury.
— Ethereum Foundation (@ethereumfndn) February 24, 2026
The non-profit organization has announced its plan to stake up to 70,000 ETH total, worth roughly $130 million at current prices, with all staking rewards flowing directly back into the EF treasury to fund ongoing operations.
The initial deposit is using an open-source solo staking tool called Dirk and Vouch, which is developed by Attestant.
“By participating directly in consensus through solo staking, the Ethereum Foundation generates native, ETH-denominated yield to help fund its stewardship of the ecosystem. It does so using Ethereum’s own economic rails and thereby subjects itself to the friction, risks, and operational realities of staking while setting a standard both in transparency and in operational management of validators,” stated in the official announcement.
On the other hand, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin continued his planned ETH sales in February. On-chain data from Lookonchain and Arkham stated that Vitalik Buterin has dumped around 8,800 ETH.
These sales come after a larger disclosed strategy announced in late January. Buterin reserved 16,384 ETH to personally fund open-source infrastructure, privacy tools, secure hardware, and other public-goods projects as the EF enters a period of what he called “mild austerity.”
According to the experts, the sales added short-term pressure during the recent dip. But today’s surge suggests the Foundation’s stakeholder announcement has raised concerns about founder distribution.
Apart from this, EF has recently shared 2026 Protocol Priorities. These focus on scalability, taking gas limits toward 100 million and above.
Also Read: BlackRock Moves $150M in Bitcoin and Ethereum From Coinbase Custody
