Today in crypto, the Ethereum Foundation has finalized an OTC sale of 5,000 Ether to BitMine, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Bitcoin is a scam. Meanwhile, USDC’s market cap is approaching a record $80 billion amid turmoil in Dubai’s real estate market.
Ethereum Foundation sells $10.2M worth of ETH to BitMine in OTC deal
The Ethereum Foundation has finalized an over-the-counter (OTC) sale of 5,000 Ether to BitMine Immersion Technologies, a transaction worth about $10.2 million based on the agreed price of $2,042.96 per ETH.
In a Saturday post on X, the foundation said proceeds from the sale will support core operations, including protocol research and development, ecosystem growth initiatives and community grant programs. The onchain transfer will originate from an Ethereum Foundation Safe multisignature wallet.
BitMine, a publicly traded company on the NYSE American under the ticker BMNR, has emerged as one of the largest corporate holders of Ether (ETH). Chaired by Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, the firm holds more than 4.5 million ETH worth roughly $9.3 billion, according to industry treasury trackers.
The company has steadily accumulated Ether since mid-2025, following a strategy similar to Strategy’s Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation model.
Bitcoiners criticize former UK PM Boris Johnson after he said BTC is a scam
Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Bitcoin a “Ponzi scheme” on Friday, drawing a torrent of online backlash from the Bitcoin (BTC) community and crypto industry executives.
Johnson wrote an opinion article in the Daily Mail recounting the story of a “friend” who had given someone they met at a bar 600 British pounds, or about $661, on the promise that the money would be doubled.
This friend then spent the next three and a half years paying “additional” fees to the promoter of this scheme, but was never able to withdraw any money, despite sinking over 20,000 British pounds into it.
“Bitcoin is not a Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi requires a central operator promising returns and paying early investors with funds from later ones,” Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor said in response.
The rest of the comments in response to the article were overwhelmingly negative, with some, like Pierre Rochard, CEO of The Bitcoin Bond Company, a BTC-backed financial product company, mocking Johnson by calling the UK economy a Ponzi Scheme.
USDC market cap nears record $80B amid ‘capital flight’ in UAE: Analyst
The market capitalization of the USDC stablecoin is approaching a record high near $80 billion as demand surges in the Middle East, with one analyst linking the spike to capital flight from the United Arab Emirates.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, USDC (USDC)’s circulating supply has risen to roughly $79.2 billion, marking a new all-time high for the dollar-pegged stablecoin. The stablecoin’s market cap previously hit a high of below $79 billion in December last year.
The increase comes after supply expanded by billions of dollars in recent weeks. The stablecoin’s market cap stood at just over $70 billion in early February and at $75 billion earlier this month.
Self-proclaimed Dubai-based analyst Rami Al-Hashimi claimed the surge reflects growing demand from investors seeking to move funds out of traditional markets. In a Friday post on X, Al-Hashimi said over-the-counter (OTC) desks in Dubai have struggled to meet demand for the stablecoin.
