Ethereum Foundation Quietly Offloads 10,000 ETH as Ether Nears $3K, SharpLink Expands Treasury Gameplan

The Ethereum Foundation recently executed a discreet over-the-counter (OTC) transaction involving 10,000 ETH, just as Ether briefly reclaimed the $3,000 milestone. The sale, priced at an average of $2,572.37 per token, occurred ahead of Friday's bullish surge that brought Ether to a high of $3,028.

The buyer in this strategic transaction was SharpLink Gaming, a sports betting tech firm that has been steadily deepening its involvement with Ethereum. The deal, totaling over $25 million, closed Thursday, with on-chain data from Nansen showing ETH trading well above the deal price—between $2,759 and $2,981—marking a notable discount.

This transaction aligns with SharpLink's broader Ethereum-based treasury pivot, which began in late May. The company not only committed to a $425 million private investment deal involving Consensys, but also appointed Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin as chairman of its board.

Lubin emphasized the need to activate dormant Ether in circulation, pointing to the current imbalance between ETH supply and ecosystem demand. “Unlocking idle Ether is crucial as new applications scale,” he said, backing SharpLink’s ETH-forward financial strategy.

The Ethereum Foundation’s sale comes amid renewed institutional appetite for crypto, particularly through ETFs. Thursday alone saw Ether spot ETFs absorb $383.1 million in net inflows—their second-largest daily total to date. The influx of capital also coincided with Bitcoin smashing through its own record, surging past $112,000, with Ether closely trailing.

Ether now trades just under $3,000, buoyed by both ETF-driven momentum and strategic corporate moves like SharpLink’s growing ETH play.