The Ethereum Foundation has completed another off-market ETH sale to BitMine Immersion Technologies, extending a funding pattern that now looks less like a one-off treasury adjustment and more like a recurring operational pipeline. The transaction moved 10,000 ETH at an average price of $2,292, or roughly $22.9 million, to the Tom Lee-chaired Ethereum treasury company. A second straight weekly 10,000 ETH sale lands while Ethereum trades well below last summer’s peak, blending foundation financing with corporate accumulation.
0/ Today, the Ethereum Foundation finalized the terms of a 10,000 ETH sale at an average price of $2,292.15 via OTC.
For this sale, our OTC counterpart was @BitMNR.
— Ethereum Foundation (@ethereumfndn) May 1, 2026
Foundation Financing Meets Treasury Demand
The Foundation said proceeds will support core operations and activities, including protocol research and development, ecosystem work, community grant funding and related initiatives. Operational funding is the official rationale, but the optics are more layered. A major nonprofit steward is converting ETH into working capital while one of the largest corporate holders absorbs supply. That does not automatically signal market stress, yet it raises a governance question: how should a foundational institution monetize reserves without unsettling the market it helps coordinate?
This was not BitMine’s first deal with the Foundation. The company bought another 10,000 ETH last Friday at an average price of $2,387 per coin, after a March purchase of 5,000 ETH at about $2,043. The Foundation also sold 10,000 ETH to rival treasury firm Sharplink last July. The pattern now spans multiple counterparties, but BitMine has become the recurring buyer in this cycle, making Foundation liquidity management a snapshot of institutional Ethereum appetite.
BitMine Keeps Buying Through the Drawdown
The timing is awkward, and perhaps that is the point. Ethereum recently traded around $2,305, up about 2% over 24 hours, but still far beneath the $4,946 high reached last summer. Treasury accumulation is colliding with price compression, making BitMine’s strategy look bold or uncomfortable depending on the investor lens. The company reportedly holds more than 5 million ETH, valued above $11.7 billion, yet is sitting on unrealized losses exceeding $6.3 billion after the sharp decline in portfolio terms.
BitMine nevertheless disclosed another major weekly acquisition, adding 101,901 ETH, worth about $235 million at current pricing, and holding more than 5.078 million ETH as of Monday. Its BMNR stock rose 1.75% Friday to $21.78 and is up more than 10% over the last month, while Ethereum gained 7.5% in the same span. The market is currently rewarding persistence, at least for shareholders now, even as repeated Foundation sales remind investors that conviction and liquidity needs can coexist.