Ethereum Foundation Launches $140M Staking Program; Bitmine Holds 3.76% of Total ETH Supply

The Ethereum Foundation launched an ETH treasury staking program worth about $140 million, starting with 2,016 ETH and planning to increase holdings to around 70,000 ETH over time, the foundation said. The program uses open-source staking tools Dirk and Vouch, originally built by Attestant and now maintained by Bitwise Onchain Solutions, with Bitwise executives stating the move demonstrates confidence in the firm's infrastructure. Separately, Bitmine expanded its Ethereum treasury to 4,534,563 ETH as of March 8, valued at $1,965 per token, equal to 3.76% of total ETH supply, and has staked 3,040,483 ETH generating an annualized $174 million in staking revenue that could rise to $259 million under full-scale staking, the company said. Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee described the market as a late-stage "mini-crypto winter" and said the firm bought 60,976 ETH in the past week, while several analysts on X highlighted technical signals and MVRV pricing bands they believe support a potential Ethereum price recovery from $2,010.78, which was 4.5% above its 24-hour low at press time.