The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has finalized the sale of 5,000 ether (ETH) in an over-the-counter transaction with BitMine Immersion Technologies, a publicly traded crypto treasury firm chaired by Fundstrat's Tom Lee. The sale cleared at an average price of $2,042.96 per ETH, valuing the transaction at approximately $10.2 million.
The non-profit organization, established in 2014 to support the Ethereum blockchain, stated the funds will support its core operations, including protocol research and development, ecosystem growth, and community grants. The transaction aligns with the Foundation's reserve management policy, which aims to balance holding ETH with maintaining sufficient fiat or fiat-like assets to cover operating costs. The EF currently targets keeping annual operating expenses near 15% of treasury value with a 2.5-year operating buffer, a strategy that informs the frequency of its ETH sales.
This sale marks the second time the Ethereum Foundation has sold part of its holdings to an Ethereum treasury firm, following a July 2025 sale of 10,000 ETH (then valued around $30 million) to Sharplink. The transaction comes less than a month after the Foundation began staking up to 70,000 ETH to support operations and deepen its role in the ecosystem.
BitMine, the counterparty in the deal, is the largest publicly traded ether treasury firm. As of last Monday, the firm held 4,534,563 ETH, worth roughly $9.41 billion based on recent prices. The company's portfolio is almost entirely ether, though it also holds around 195 BTC, over $1 billion in cash, and equity stakes including a share in Beast Industries (behind MrBeast) and a 7% stake in the Worldcoin treasury firm Eightco.
Despite holding a substantial unrealized loss—estimated in the ballpark of $7.5 billion based on its average purchase price through November 2025—BitMine and Chairman Tom Lee continue to accumulate ETH and remain bullish. Lee commented last Monday, "Ethereum prices showed resilience this week... We continue to believe that crypto prices are in the late/final stages of the 'mini-crypto winter.'"
The sale occurs against a backdrop of a significant price decline for Ethereum, which has fallen 58% since its peak of $4,946 in August 2025. Despite recent gains of 5% over the last week and 9% over the last 30 days, prediction markets like Myriad indicate bearish short-term sentiment, with a 63% chance that ETH's next major move is toward $1,500 rather than $3,000.
