TLDR
- The Ethereum Foundation sold 5,000 ETH to BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) in an OTC deal worth ~$10.2 million at $2,042.96 per ETH.
- This is the EF’s second corporate OTC ETH sale, following a $25.7M deal with SharpLink Gaming in July 2025.
- BitMine, chaired by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, is now the largest publicly traded Ether treasury firm, holding over 4.5 million ETH worth ~$9.3 billion.
- Proceeds will fund the EF’s core operations including protocol R&D, ecosystem growth, and community grants.
- The sale aligns with the EF’s treasury framework, which targets annual spending at ~15% of treasury value with a multi-year operating buffer.
The Ethereum Foundation has sold 5,000 ETH to BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) in a direct over-the-counter transaction worth approximately $10.2 million. The deal cleared at an average price of $2,042.96 per ETH.
🚨TOM LEE’S BITMINE JUST BOUGHT ETH DIRECTLY FROM THE ETHEREUM FOUNDATION
The Ethereum Foundation confirmed it sold 5,000 ETH to BitMine in an OTC transaction worth roughly $10.2 M.
The deal was priced at $2,042.96 per ETH. pic.twitter.com/yjKvW640PC
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) March 14, 2026
The sale was announced by the Foundation on Saturday via a post on X. The onchain transfer will originate from an Ethereum Foundation Safe multisignature wallet.
BitMine is listed on NYSE American under the ticker BMNR. It is chaired by Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, who has been one of the more vocal supporters of Ethereum as a corporate treasury asset.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc., BMNR
The firm holds more than 4.5 million ETH, currently valued at roughly $9.3 billion. That makes BitMine the largest publicly traded Ether treasury company in the world.
BitMine’s portfolio is almost entirely ETH. The company also holds around 195 BTC, over $1 billion in cash, and equity positions in several other companies.
Those positions include a stake in Beast Industries — the company behind YouTube creator MrBeast — following a $200 million investment. BitMine also holds a 7% stake in Eightco, a Worldcoin treasury firm.
The company has been steadily accumulating ETH since mid-2025, following a model similar to Strategy’s Bitcoin accumulation playbook.
EF’s Second Corporate OTC Deal
This is the second time the Ethereum Foundation has sold ETH directly to a corporate treasury buyer. In July 2025, the Foundation sold 10,000 ETH to SharpLink Gaming at an average price of $2,572.37, totaling around $25.7 million.
These sales are part of the EF’s treasury management framework introduced in June 2025. The framework requires the Foundation to periodically convert a portion of its ETH into fiat to maintain an operating reserve.
The EF targets annual operating expenses at roughly 15% of its total treasury value. It also aims to keep a 2.5-year operating buffer in place, which dictates how often and how much ETH is sold.
Proceeds from the BMNR deal will go toward protocol research and development, ecosystem growth initiatives, and community grant programs.
EF Staking and New Mandate
The sale comes shortly after the Foundation announced plans to stake up to 70,000 ETH using open-source validator infrastructure. That move is designed to both generate returns and deepen the Foundation’s participation in the Ethereum network.
Earlier this week, the EF also published a new mandate document outlining its role in stewarding the Ethereum ecosystem. The document emphasizes decentralization, censorship resistance, open-source development, and user sovereignty.
The Foundation said it will concentrate on core protocol upgrades, long-term research, cybersecurity, and developer tooling. It also said it plans to gradually reduce its direct influence over the broader network over time.
BitMine currently holds more than 4.5 million ETH, according to industry treasury trackers.
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