Ethereum Foundation weighs staking $1B to cover costs

Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently addressed the community's push for the Ethereum Foundation to stake its Ether (ETH) instead of selling it to fund operations.

Buterin stated that the foundation is exploring ways to address concerns surrounding staking.

On January 20, Josh Stark from the Ethereum Foundation explained that the organisation currently swaps ETH for stablecoins to manage expenses, including payments for events like Devcon.

The community has suggested that staking a portion of the foundation's ETH holdings could generate interest to cover operational costs.

Anthony Sassano, a prominent voice in the Ethereum community, recommended that the foundation consider staking rather than selling ETH.

He noted that utilising decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms like Aave (CRYPTO:AAVE) could provide liquidity without liquidating ETH assets.

Sassano acknowledged the risks involved but argued this approach could be more beneficial than current practices.

DCinvestor echoed this sentiment, suggesting that staking a significant amount of ETH could help sustain the foundation financially.

However, Eric Conner criticised the foundation's reliance on selling ETH, stating it undermines its potential and calling for a shift towards staking.

Buterin elaborated on the foundation's hesitations regarding staking, citing two main concerns: regulatory risks and the necessity to take a stance on any future contentious hard forks.

He noted that while regulatory issues have lessened, the possibility of being forced to choose sides in a hard fork remains a significant concern.

“There are definitely ways to minimise this concern, and we’ve recently been exploring them,” Buterin said.

Tim Beiko highlighted that staking the foundation's reserves would not fully cover operational expenses, indicating that alternative strategies may still be necessary.  

At the time of reporting, the Ethereum (ETH) price was $3,256.17.