The Ethereum Foundation today announced an OTC sale of 5,000 ETH to Bitmine, the largest Ethereum treasury company led by Thomas “Tom” Lee.
0 / Today, Ethereum Foundation completed 5,000 ETH sales orders at an average price of $2,042.96 via OTC.
For this sale, it was our OTC partner @BitMNR.
— Ethereum Foundation (@ethereumfndn) March 14, 2026
EF plans to use the proceeds from the sale to support its ongoing activities, including research and protocol development, ecosystem development initiatives, and community grant programs.
According to Arkham Intelligence, the Foundation still has about 170,000 ETH worth about $356 million. The organization started contributing to its ETH treasury starting at 2,016 in February and plans to contribute a total of around 70,000 ETH.
Bitmine has steadily accumulated ETH since launching its treasury strategy last June. The volume of the company’s shares has exceeded 4.5 million, which is worth 9.5 billion dollars at the current market price.
Currently, more than 3 million ETH have been contributed, generating an annual staking revenue of approximately $174 million, with the potential to reach $259 million when fully deployed through MAVAN’s upcoming validator network.
The Ethereum Foundation describes the mission and principles in the new EF mandate
The sale follows the Fund’s recent publication of the EF Mandate, a document that defines its role and guiding philosophy in supporting the development of Ethereum.
The foundation said its primary responsibility is to protect Ethereum’s commitment to user sovereignty.
The mandate states that the network must remain censorship-resistant, open source, private and secure, while stressing that the foundation is one administrator among many, not the power of the network.
