Ethereum Foundation Sells $11.1M ETH In Largest Sale This Year Amid Staking Pivot

• The Ethereum Foundation said Friday it sold 10,000 ETH at an average price of $2,387, raising about $11.1 million through an OTC transaction with BitMNR.
• The sale is double the size of its March transaction, when it sold 5,000 ETH for roughly $10.2 million.
• Proceeds will fund core activities including protocol development, ecosystem growth, and community grants.

The Ethereum Foundation said Friday it sold 10,000 ETH at an average price of $2,387 through an over-the-counter deal, marking its largest treasury-related sale this year and double its transaction in March.

The sale would raise about $11.1 million as part of the Foundation’s ongoing treasury management strategy. The non-profit said the transaction was executed over-the-counter with Bitmine (BMNR), similar to March, when it sold 5,000 ETH for roughly $10.2 million.

The organization has not disclosed its updated ETH balance following the sale, though it previously held about 169,863 ETH, valued at roughly $354 million at recent prices.

Ethereum’s price edged 0.9% lower in the last 24 hours, holding above $2,300. Retail sentiment around the leading altcoin on Stocktwits dipped to ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral’ territory over the past day, accompanied by chatter at ‘normal’ levels. 

It posted the highest losses among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, while Bitcoin (BTC) edged 0.5% lower to around $77,700.

Ethereum Foundation Shifts To ‘Stake-to-Fund’ From ‘Sell-to-Fund’

At the beginning of the year, the Foundation announced that it would be transitioning from its ‘Sell-to-Fund’ model to a ‘Stake-to-Fund’ model. Instead of periodically selling large amounts of Ethereum to cover operational costs, research grants and developer salaries it would not stake its ETH for returns.

The Foundation’s share of Ethereum’s total supply has steadily declined over the past decade. Following the 2014 ICO, it controlled roughly 9% of all ETH. Today, that figure has dropped to under 0.3%.

Earlier this month, the Foundation said it had hit its target of staking roughly 70,000 ETH. It said it would be able to accrue annual revenue of around 1,900 to 2,000 ETH as staking yields of between 2.7% and 3.1%. The “non-dilutive” income is intended to cover most recurrin grants and research costs.

However, this doesn’t mean that the Foundation won’t sell any Ethereum at all. Every three months, it reviews its treasury against a target operating buffer and determines how much ETH, if any, needs to be sold to maintain its fiat reserves.

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