Ethereum Foundation sells 5,000 ETH to BitMine in $10.2M OTC deal

The Ethereum Foundation finalized an over-the-counter sale of 5,000 Ether to BitMine Immersion Technologies on March 14, a $10.2 million transaction priced at $2,042.96 per ETH. The on-chain transfer will originate from an Ethereum Foundation Safe multisignature wallet.

According to the foundation, proceeds will support core operations, including protocol research and development, ecosystem growth initiatives and community grant programs. Executing the deal directly with BitMine rather than on a public exchange is a common way to limit market impact and lock in pricing.

BitMine Immersion Technologies, which trades on the NYSE American under the ticker BMNR, has emerged as one of the largest corporate holders of Ether. Industry treasury trackers indicate the company holds more than 4.5 million ETH valued at roughly $9.3 billion. The firm, chaired by Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, has been accumulating Ether since mid-2025 under a corporate treasury strategy.

The agreement is the foundation’s second direct corporate OTC sale. In July 2025, the organization sold 10,000 ETH to SharpLink Gaming at an average price of $2,572.37, a transaction totaling about $25.7 million.

The sales align with a treasury management framework the foundation introduced in June 2025. The policy calls for periodically converting a portion of ETH holdings to maintain a fiat operating reserve, targeting annual spending near 15% of treasury holdings while keeping a multi-year operating runway.

Alongside selective conversions, the foundation has begun staking part of its treasury and plans to deploy around 70,000 ETH into validators using open-source infrastructure. Staking rewards are intended to help offset operating costs and contribute to network security.

This week, the foundation published a mandate describing its role in stewarding the ecosystem after Buterin outlined sanctuary tech for Ethereum neutrality. The document emphasizes decentralization and user control over assets and data, stating that Ethereum should remain censorship-resistant, open source and privacy-preserving while scaling. Focus areas include core protocol upgrades, long-term research, cybersecurity and developer tools, with the goal of gradually reducing direct influence over the network.

A settlement timeline for the BitMine transaction was not disclosed beyond the note that the transfer will be executed from the Safe wallet. BitMine has not released further details on how the purchased ETH will be allocated within its treasury.