NEW YORK, April 26, 2026, 10:03 EDT
- The Ethereum Foundation unloaded 10,000 ether, selling to Bitmine at $2,387 apiece in a private deal off the exchanges.
- Bitmine wants a massive public-company ether stash. The Foundation, for its part, relies on selling tokens to bankroll operations and grant programs. That’s the core of why this deal matters.
- BMNR closed Friday at $22.14, while ether hovered close to $2,334 as of Sunday.
The Ethereum Foundation unloaded 10,000 ether—Ethereum’s native token—in a direct OTC deal with Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc., pocketing roughly $23.9 million. That move throws the spotlight back on the public company’s ambitious Ethereum treasury strategy as U.S. markets get set to reopen Monday. OTC, or over-the-counter, refers to private block trades executed off public exchanges.
The deal is modest compared to the entire ether market, but it turns heads: Bitmine stands out as a public company using crypto for its treasury, and this batch of coins came from Ethereum’s primary nonprofit supporter — not an exchange or hedge fund.
BMNR shares ended Friday at $22.14, putting the company’s market cap around $10.1 billion. As for ether, it changed hands near $2,334 as of Sunday. U.S. stock markets were shut when this was published.
Bitmine disclosed on April 20 it was holding 4,976,485 ETH, along with 199 bitcoin and $1.12 billion in cash, as of April 19—putting its share of Ethereum’s 120.7 million token supply at 4.12%. Should the Foundation’s 10,000 ETH sale not be factored in yet, Bitmine’s ether position would edge higher, to around 4.99 million tokens, or close to 4.13% of supply.
The company’s ambition, dubbed the “Alchemy of 5%,” is to secure 5% of all ETH in circulation. In a statement released April 20, Chairman Thomas “Tom” Lee said Bitmine had kept up its heightened ETH buying streak for a fourth consecutive week, snapping up another 101,627 ETH in the most recent week. Finviz
Bitmine reported staking 3,334,637 ETH as of April 20. By staking—locking up tokens to validate Ethereum transactions—Bitmine effectively converts some assets into a yield-producing position. The yield, however, shifts with network and market dynamics.
The Foundation’s recent sale offers a window into its strategy. Under its June 2025 treasury policy, annual operating expenses are capped at 15% of its treasury, with a 2.5-year buffer built in. ETH sales, according to the policy, are measured against that operating reserve. For this particular transaction, the Foundation said funds are earmarked for protocol R&D, ecosystem initiatives, and community grants.
Bitmine is still far out in front when it comes to ether-treasury totals. Public records from a tracker show Bitmine holding 4,976,485 ETH, with SharpLink Gaming next at 868,699 ETH, and The Ether Machine holding 496,712 ETH. The recent direct sale from the Foundation, then, is really just about Bitmine widening its margin rather than shaking up the rankings.
Strategy Inc.—the company that used to go by MicroStrategy—looms largest. Bitmine, in an update last week, put itself just behind Strategy in the league table of global crypto treasuries, pointing to a similar approach: following the public-equity blueprint, but swapping bitcoin for ether at the center.
The tradeoff is clear. Bitmine booked a $3.8 billion net loss for the quarter ending Feb. 28, according to its April 14 quarterly filing—a hit mostly tied to unrealized losses on its digital assets. The company also flagged that using fair-value accounting for these holdings could make its reported earnings swing more sharply.
This is the big risk for shareholders. When ether drops, Bitmine’s net asset value can take a quick hit. On the other hand, if ether climbs, the stock might still feel pressure—from dilution worries, capital requirements, and the question of how investors price a business whose core operations take a back seat to such a substantial ETH holding.
