The Ethereum Foundation has sold 5,000 Ether via an over-the-counter deal to the company BitMine Immersion Technologies for about $10.2 million. This marks the foundation’s second such corporate sale, part of a treasury management plan to fund core operations while maintaining a multi-year operating reserve. The publicly traded BitMine, chaired by Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, now holds over 4.5 million ETH, consolidating its position as a major corporate holder.
The Ethereum Foundation has finalized an over-the-counter sale of 5,000 ETH to BitMine Immersion Technologies, a transaction worth approximately $10.2 million based on a price of $2,042.96 per ETH. Proceeds will support core protocol research, ecosystem growth initiatives, and community grant programs.
A Saturday post on X by the foundation stated the onchain transfer originates from an Ethereum Foundation Safe multisignature wallet. This is the second time the organization has sold ETH directly to a corporate treasury buyer via an OTC deal.
The foundation previously sold 10,000 ETH to SharpLink Gaming in July 2025 at an average price of $2,572.37, a transaction valued at about $25.7 million. These periodic sales are part of a treasury management framework introduced in June 2025.
Under that policy, the organization converts a portion of its ETH holdings to maintain a fiat-based operating reserve. The framework targets annual spending equal to roughly 15% of treasury holdings.
BitMine, traded on the NYSE American under the ticker BMNR, has emerged as one of the largest corporate holders of Ether. Industry treasury trackers show the firm holds more than 4.5 million ETH worth roughly $9.3 billion.
The company has steadily accumulated Ether since mid-2025, following a strategy similar to a Bitcoin accumulation model. The Ethereum Foundation also recently began staking a portion of its treasury, with plans to deploy around 70,000 ETH into validators.
Separately, the foundation released a new mandate outlining its role in stewarding the Ethereum ecosystem. The document states that Ethereum should remain censorship-resistant, open source and privacy-preserving while scaling to support global adoption.
The foundation said it will focus on core protocol upgrades, long-term research, cybersecurity, and developer tools. It also emphasized a goal of gradually reducing its direct influence over the network.
