Ethereum Foundation to sell 10K ETH ’to fund R&D, grants, and donations’

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has announced another sale worth about $43 million in Ether as part of efforts to fund research and development, grants, and donations related to the ecosystem.

In a Tuesday X post, the foundation said it planned to convert 10,000 Ether (ETH) using centralized exchanges “over several weeks.” The group said the conversion intended to fund its work “will take place over multiple smaller orders, rather than as a single large transaction.”

The sale comes after the foundation temporarily paused open grant applications applications on Friday as part of an effort to overhaul its grant process. As of the first quarter of 2025, EF said it had distributed more than $32 million in grants, including those for community and education.

The foundation supporting the Ethereum blockchain released a treasury policy in June, which laid out considerations for ETH sales. Specifically, EF said it would “periodically calculate the deviation of the treasury’s fiat-denominated assets […] and determine how much, if any, Ether will be sold over the next three months.”

Since announcing the treasury policy, the foundation has sold about $25 million worth of Ether to SharpLink Gaming and 2,795 ETH worth about $12.7 million in two transactions. One of EF’s most significant sales of 100,000 ETH in December 2020 may have contributed to the price surging to then all-time highs over months. 

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At the time of publication, ETH price was $4,326 according to Nansen, having surged more than 23% in the previous 30 days.

Buying and selling contributing to volatility?

In addition to EF’s moves, the Yunfeng Financial Group disclosed on Tuesday that it had purchased 10,000 ETH “in the open market.” The investment did not appear to be related to the foundation’s sale.

Ether Machine also reported that it had secured 150,000 ETH on Tuesday as part of its plans to build an Ether treasury ahead of an anticipated Nasdaq listing. The company will hold more than 345,000 ETH, worth about $1.5 billion, following the deal.

Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin speculated over the weekend that Wall Street’s adoption of ETH could cause the token to flip Bitcoin (BTC) as a “monetary base.” The token hit an all-time high price of more than $4,870 in August amid comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggesting “adjusting [the US’] policy stance” on interest rates.

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