Ethereum Foundation Sells 10,000 ETH to Tom Lee’s BitMine in OTC Deal

The Ethereum Foundation completed another over-the-counter sale of ETH to Tom Lee’s BitMine, finalizing a deal for 10,000 ETH at an average price of $2,292.15 per token, which the foundation said implied proceeds of roughly $22.9 million.

“Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE:BMNR), une entreprise liée au stratège de Wall Street Tom Lee, vient d’acheter environ 233 millions de dollars en Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH)”

Benzinga France

CoinDesk framed the transaction as “another treasury disposition following similar deals earlier this year,” noting that the foundation “finalized the sale of 10,000 ETH to BitMine” and that the proceeds would fund “core operations & activities, including protocol research and development, ecosystem growth and community grants.”

Benzinga France

The same pattern appeared across multiple outlets: ForkLog said the foundation “finalized the terms of a 10,000 ETH sale at an average price of $2,292.15 via OTC,” while The Crypto Times described the sale as “a private sale of 10,000 Ethereum (ETH) to Bitmine Immersion Technologies” executed “at an average price of $2,292.15 per ETH.”

Decrypt also tied the latest sale to a broader cadence, calling it “the second straight weekly sale of 10,000 ETH to the leading Ethereum treasury company,” and said the deal was struck “at an average price of $2,292 per ETH.”

The Block put the week’s total in context, saying the foundation’s recent ETH sales to Bitmine “hit $47 million after latest deal,” and reported that “Bitmine paid an average price of $2,292.15 per ETH.”

Across the coverage, the counterparty was consistently identified as BitMine Immersion Technologies with the ticker “BMNR,” and the mechanism was consistently described as OTC rather than public exchange trading.

The latest 10,000 ETH sale did not arrive in isolation; multiple reports placed it after earlier BitMine purchases from the Ethereum Foundation.

CoinDesk said the transaction “follows a similar March deal in which the foundation sold 5,000 ETH to BitMine,” adding that the March sale raised “roughly $10.2 million,” and that it was executed at “about $2,042 per ETH.”

Bitcoin News

ForkLog similarly described the first transaction as “the firm purchasing 5,000 ETH at approximately $2,043,” and said the foundation’s third OTC sale came after “a nearly identical transaction of 10,000 ETH on April 24, when the average price was about $2,387.”

Decrypt echoed the April 24 timing and pricing, stating that “Just last Friday, the Ethereum Foundation announced a separate 10,000 ETH sale to the firm, at an average price of $2,387 per coin,” and then described the new deal as “at an average price of $2,292 per ETH.”

Bloomingbit also tied the sequence together, saying the foundation “also sold 10,000 ETH through the same method on April 24,” and that the average sale price for the latest agreement was “$2,292.15.”

Cryptoast described the earlier step as “the foundation announced on Saturday a new sale of 5,000 units,” and said the foundation “agreed with Bitmine on a sale worth $10.21 million” at “$2,042.96 per ETH.”

Across the reporting, the Ethereum Foundation’s stated rationale for the OTC sales centered on funding “core operations & activities” rather than market-making.

CoinDesk quoted the foundation’s explanation that proceeds would go toward “core operations & activities, including protocol research and development, ecosystem growth and community grants,” and said the transaction was “part of its formal treasury management strategy, under which ETH holdings are periodically converted into fiat to maintain operating runway and reduce market impact.”

The Crypto Times similarly said “The Foundation described the sale as part of its routine treasury operations, with proceeds allocated toward core functions such as protocol research, ecosystem development, and community grants,” and added that “The transaction will be processed through a designated multisig wallet.”

ForkLog also reported that the foundation said the sale “funds the foundation’s core operations and activities, including protocol research and development, ecosystem growth, community grant funding, and more,” and said the sales were “part of ‘treasury management activities’ in line with previously published policy.”

Bitcoin News framed the same point through a governance lens, saying the foundation “continues to contribute to the financing the network’s development” while “it no longer sees itself as the central authority of Ethereum,” and described the sale as coming from “its Safe multisignature wallet.”

Decrypt likewise said the sale “funds the Ethereum Foundation’s core operations and activities, including protocol R&D, ecosystem development, community grant funding and more,” and described the deal as “Just last Friday” after a prior sale.

Multiple outlets emphasized BitMine’s growing position as the repeated OTC counterparty and as a large corporate holder of ETH.

CoinDesk described BitMine as “helmed by Fundstrat's Tom Lee” and said the counterparty was “BitMine Immersion Technologies, a repeat buyer,” adding that it “has increasingly acted as a key institutional accumulator of ETH from the foundation.”

CoinDesk

Benzinga France reported that Bitmine Immersion Technologies had “près de 5 millions de jetons ETH” and said it “détient actuellement près de 4 % de l’offre totale d’Ethereum,” while also describing the latest purchase as “plus de 100 000 ETH acquis en un seul mouvement.”

Cryptoast put BitMine’s holdings at “4,534,563 ETH” as of “March 8,” and said “a little over 3 million ETH are staked” with “an estimated yield of $259 million per year.”

Decrypt said BitMine “currently holds over 5 million ETH valued above $11.7 billion,” and also stated that BitMine “has publicly targeted holding around 5% of Ethereum’s total supply.”

The Block described Bitmine’s staking exposure as “closer to 70% of its total holdings” and said the foundation’s selling drew “plenty of criticism” after the Friday announcement posted to X.

The reporting also captured how the sales were received, including direct criticism from within the Ethereum community and different market interpretations about what the transactions signal.

“Ethereum Foundation finalizes sale of 10,000 ether to BitMine as part of its treasury strategy The latest transaction follows a similar March deal in which the foundation sold 5,000 ETH to BitMine, raising roughly $10”

CoinDesk

The Block said the Friday announcement “was met with plenty of criticism,” and included a quoted reaction: “Why do you need $46 million in 2 weeks?! How much are you guys burning and what for?,” while also noting that the foundation had faced discontent before, including that “at one point last year, the organization said it planned to limit ETH sales.”

Cointelegraph

ForkLog likewise said “The transaction drew criticism from the Ethereum community,” and quoted another user asking, “Why do you need $46 million in two weeks? How much are you spending and on what? Why doesn’t any developer accept ETH directly as payment?”

Crypto Briefing took a different tack by describing market confidence effects, stating that “The Ethereum Foundation’s significant sale of ETH to Bitmine appears to contribute to a reduction in market confidence for Ethereum reaching $10,000 by the end of 2026,” and citing prediction-market pricing such as “3.8% YES probability for reaching $10,000 by December 31, 2026.”

Crypto Briefing also said “near-term market for Ethereum’s price being less than $1,900 on April 30, 2026, is priced at 100% YES,” and described this as consistent with “NO outcome support” for Ethereum’s near-term prospects.

Meanwhile, CoinDesk emphasized the foundation’s transparency and execution details, saying the onchain transfer “is expected to originate from an Ethereum Foundation-controlled multisig wallet,” and that the sales were “typically executed OTC to avoid disrupting spot markets.”