The Ethereum Foundation has sold 10,000 ETH to BitMine Immersion Technologies for approximately $22.9 million, marking its third such over-the-counter transaction with the firm. This latest sale at an average of $2,292 per coin follows a similar 10,000 ETH sale the previous week. The Foundation states the proceeds fund its core operations, including protocol development and grants, while the sales have drawn community scrutiny over the pace of its treasury management.
The Ethereum Foundation has conducted a third over-the-counter sale of 10,000 ETH to BitMine Immersion Technologies. The transaction was executed at an average price of $2,292 per coin, worth roughly $22.9 million.
“This sale funds the Ethereum Foundation’s core operations and activities, including protocol R&D, ecosystem development, community grant funding and more,” the Foundation wrote in a Friday post. This sale follows a nearly identical 10,000 ETH transaction completed just one week earlier at $2,387 per coin.
Combined with a 5,000 ETH sale in March, the Foundation has sold approximately $47 million worth of ETH to BitMine in the past week alone. The move also comes after the foundation unstaked 17,035 ETH worth roughly $40 million last week.
The repeated sales have drawn criticism from the community. “Why do you need $46 million in 2 weeks?! How much are you guys burning and what for? Why is no one from the devs taking ETH directly as payment?!” one user wrote in response to the announcement.
The Foundation has faced scrutiny over its ETH sales before and at one point last year said it planned to limit them. ETH is currently trading at around $2,303, down by more than 53% compared to its all-time high.
BitMine, chaired by Tom Lee, is the largest Ethereum treasury company by holdings, with nearly 5 million ETH. The company has also been aggressively staking its holdings, with 83% of its cumulative ETH now staked as of Thursday.
