The Ethereum Foundation has finalized the sale of 10,000 ether to BitMine Immersion Technologies in an over-the-counter deal, raising approximately $22.9 million to support its ongoing operations. The foundation confirmed the transaction in a post on X, disclosing an average sale price of $2,292.15 per ETH.
BitMine, the crypto infrastructure firm led by Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder Tom Lee, served as the sole counterparty, continuing a series of direct institutional purchases from the foundation that began earlier this year.
The deal deepens a relationship that has quietly made BitMine one of the largest corporate holders of ether.
A Repeat Buyer Takes a Larger Stake
This is not the first time BitMine and the Ethereum Foundation have closed a direct ETH transaction. In March, the foundation sold 5,000 ETH to BitMine at roughly $2,042 per token, generating about $10.2 million.
The latest deal doubles that volume and was executed at a price approximately 12 percent higher than the March transaction, reflecting a modest shift in ETH valuations between the two deals.
By completing two direct purchases from the foundation within a few months, BitMine has established itself as a repeat institutional buyer rather than a one-time counterparty.
The firm’s growing ETH treasury positions it alongside a small number of corporations that have made deliberate, large-scale accumulation of ether a core part of their balance sheet strategy in 2026.
The foundation structured both transactions as OTC deals, a format designed to avoid placing large sell orders on open spot markets where the price impact could be material.
ETH’s daily trading volumes across major centralized exchanges remain significant, but a 10,000 ETH block sale hitting the open order book could still move markets, particularly during thinner trading windows.
What the Proceeds Fund and How the Transfer Works
According to the foundation’s X post, the proceeds will be directed toward its core operational mandate: protocol research and development, ecosystem growth initiatives, and community grants.
This funding model has remained consistent across prior treasury sales, with the foundation treating periodic ETH conversions as a structured mechanism to maintain an operating runway without relying on external financing.
The onchain transfer is expected to originate from an Ethereum Foundation-controlled multisig wallet, in line with the organization’s recent push for greater transparency around how it manages and disburses treasury assets.
The use of a disclosed multisig address allows any observer to independently verify the movement of funds, a step that reflects growing community scrutiny over foundation treasury activity.
The foundation has faced periodic questions from parts of the Ethereum developer community about the pace and scale of its ETH sales, with some observers arguing that large disposals could weigh on market sentiment.
The OTC structure and the advance disclosure of the multisig wallet address are both measures the foundation has used to address those concerns directly.
The timing of these transactions also carries broader context. Ether has traded at compressed valuations relative to its 2021 peak, and the foundation’s willingness to sell at current price levels suggests it is prioritizing operational continuity over waiting for a price recovery.
At $2,292.15 per token, the foundation received considerably less per ETH than it would have at the highs reached in prior cycles, yet the organization has consistently framed these sales as budget-driven rather than market-timed decisions.
BitMine’s continued participation at these price levels signals conviction that current valuations represent a reasonable long-term entry point for a corporate treasury.
Tom Lee has publicly expressed a bullish outlook on crypto assets in broader market commentary, and the firm’s direct sourcing of ETH from the foundation eliminates the execution risk and potential slippage associated with buying equivalent volumes on public exchanges.
Combined, the two BitMine transactions completed so far in 2026 have transferred 15,000 ETH from the foundation’s treasury to a single institutional buyer, generating roughly $33.1 million in total proceeds for the Ethereum Foundation’s operational budget.
Whether additional sales to BitMine or other institutional counterparties follow will likely depend on the foundation’s burn rate and the evolving ETH price environment through the remainder of the year.
Not Financial Advice: This article is for informational purposes only. Crypto investments are highly volatile. Always do your own research.
