Ethereum Foundation Sells $24M in ETH to Bitmine to Fund Core Development Activities

The Ethereum Foundation has completed an over the counter sale of 10,000 ETH to Bitmine Immersion Technologies, a digital asset treasury firm led by chairman Tom Lee. The transaction was finalized at an average price of $2,387 per ether, bringing the total value of the deal to nearly $24 million.

According to the foundation, proceeds from the sale will support core operations and ecosystem initiatives, including protocol research and development, community grant funding, and broader ecosystem growth efforts. The move follows an earlier conversion of approximately $11 million worth of ether into stablecoins to fund similar activities, highlighting ongoing operational funding needs.

Bitmine Expands Position as One of the Largest ETH Holders

With the latest purchase, Bitmine has continued expanding its Ethereum holdings. Earlier this week, the publicly listed company disclosed that it held 4,976,485 ETH, representing about 4.12% of the total ether supply. This figure includes a recent acquisition of 101,627 ETH as part of its accumulation strategy.

Bitmine also purchased 5,000 ETH from the Ethereum Foundation last month, spending approximately $10 million in that earlier transaction.

Foundation Adjusts Strategy Following Past Criticism

The Ethereum Foundation has previously faced criticism for recurring ether sales used to fund operations. In response, it introduced plans to reduce reliance on direct sales by deploying capital into decentralized finance protocols and staking ETH to generate sustainable income streams. As part of this approach, the foundation allocated 50,000 ETH to its DeFi Ecosystem wallet in January 2025.

Ethereum was trading around $2,321 on Friday, down roughly 1% during the session.

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