The Ethereum Foundation (EF) sold 5,000 ETH via an over-the-counter (OTC) transaction on March 14, with BitMine Immersion Technologies acting as the buyer at an average price of $2,042.96 per ETH, totaling approximately $10.2 million.

What the Sale Is For

The Foundation said the proceeds will fund its core activities: protocol research and development, ecosystem growth, and community grants. The transaction is part of the EF's ongoing treasury management framework, which targets keeping annual operating expenses below 15% of treasury value, with a 2.5-year operating buffer.

This is the second time the EF has sold ETH directly to a publicly traded crypto treasury company. Last July, it sold 10,000 ETH — then worth around $30 million — to Sharplink Gaming.

BitMine's Position

BitMine, chaired by Fundstrat's Tom Lee, is the largest publicly traded ETH treasury firm, holding around 4.53 million ETH as of last Monday. At current prices, that's roughly $9.4 billion in ETH — though the firm carries an unrealized loss of approximately $7.5 billion, having accumulated most of its stack near the $4,946 peak ETH hit in August 2025. Ethereum has since fallen roughly 58% from that high.

Context

The sale follows the EF's February decision to stake up to 70,000 ETH to support operations. Together, staking and selective OTC sales appear to be the Foundation's evolving approach to sustaining itself without repeatedly selling ETH on the open market — a move that has historically triggered community concern about downward price pressure.