Ethereum Foundation Dumps $23M in ETH to BitMine for Third Time in Two Months
The Ethereum Foundation has completed its third over-the-counter (OTC) sale to BitMine Immersion Technologies, selling 10,000 ETH at an average price of $2,292 per coin, raising nearly $22.9 million.
“This sale will fund the Ethereum Foundation's core operations and activities, including protocol R&D, ecosystem development, community funding and more,” the foundation wrote in a Friday post on X.
The sale follows a similar 10,000 ETH transaction that ended a week earlier at $2,387 per coin. The foundation first sold to BitMine in March, when it sold 5,000 ETH for around $2,043. Combined, the foundation sold roughly $47 million worth of ETH to BitMine in the past week alone.
Ethereum Foundation sells 10,000 ETH. Source: Ethereum Foundation
The move comes after the foundation failed to raise $40 million worth of 17,035 ETH last week, apparently abandoning its goal of 70,000 ETH per share.
Related: These 3 Ethereum Indicators Support ETH's Price Rally Toward $6K
EF is checking on ETH sales
The repeated sales have drawn criticism from the public. “Why do you want $46 million in 2 weeks?! How much are you burning and why? Why isn't anyone from the devs taking ETH directly as payment?!” A user wrote in response to the ad.
The foundation has previously faced scrutiny over ETH sales, and at one point last year said it planned to limit them. Since then, he has moved to offset that pressure by taking some ownership stakes.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, ETH is currently trading around $2,303, mostly during the previous day. However, the token has fallen by more than 53% compared to the high of $4,953 recorded in August last year.
Related: Ether treasuries need liquid edge to beat ETFs, says Lido exec
BitMine is close to 5 million ETH
BitMine, led by Tom Lee, is the largest Ethereum treasury company by holdings, with nearly 5 million ETH on its books. The milestone was reached after the firm added 101,901 ETH, its biggest weekly purchase of the year.
The company owns 83 percent of ETH, 4.19 million coins worth about $9.5 billion, now up nearly 70 percent from last week.
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