The Ethereum Foundation has completed another over-the-counter ETH sale to BitMine Immersion Technologies.
Summary
- Ethereum Foundation sold 10,000 ETH to BitMine, marking its third OTC deal in two months.
- Community members questioned repeated ETH sales after the foundation also unstaked about $40 million in assets.
- The foundation says ETH sales support operations, grants, protocol research, and wider ecosystem development work.
The move came as the foundation continued to face questions over its treasury activity, grant funding, and recent unstaking of ETH.
The Ethereum Foundation sold 10,000 ETH to BitMine at an average price of $2,292 per coin. The deal was worth about $22.9 million and marked its third OTC sale to the company in two months.
The foundation said the sale would support its operating needs. It wrote, “This sale funds the Ethereum Foundation’s core operations and activities.” It also listed protocol research, ecosystem work, and community grants as funding areas.
The latest transaction followed another 10,000 ETH sale to BitMine one week earlier. That earlier deal happened at an average price of $2,387 per ETH. In March, the foundation also sold 5,000 ETH to BitMine at about $2,043 per coin.
Together, the recent sales have renewed debate around how the foundation manages its ETH holdings. Some community members questioned the pace of the sales, especially as ETH traded near $2,300.
Community questions grow after repeated sales
The foundation’s latest sale drew criticism from some Ethereum users. One user asked, “Why do you need $46 million in 2 weeks?!” The comment reflected concern over spending, treasury planning, and payment choices for developers.
The debate also followed a separate move by the foundation to unstake 17,035 ETH, worth about $40 million. Arkham data showed that the foundation deposited wrapped staked ETH into Lido’s unstETH contract as part of the withdrawal process.
Crypto.news reported that the foundation had not publicly explained the unstaking move at the time. Some market users questioned whether the ETH could later move to exchanges or be sold.
However, no official statement linked the unstaking to a market sale. In Ethereum, unstaking starts a withdrawal request and returns ETH after the queue process ends.
Grants point to long-term Ethereum work
The sales come as the foundation continues to fund Ethereum research and development. Its Q1 2026 grant report focused on zero-knowledge research, cryptography, core clients, validator security, and public infrastructure.
The grants included support for Geth, Erigon, Lighthouse, validator security tools, and node discovery work. The foundation also backed projects tied to Poseidon hash analysis, quantum-resistant systems, and formal verification for RISC-V-based zkVM infrastructure.
Funding also went to developer education, WalletConnect clear-signing tools, L2BEAT analytics, privacy tools, identity standards, and DAO governance research. These areas show that the foundation is still directing capital toward network infrastructure rather than short-term market activity.
