Ethereum News Roundup: BitMine $350M Buyback, THEO Exploit and More

Ethereum News October 14: ETH Price, Whale Move, THEO Exploit and More

Ethereum News updates shows a market pulling in two directions. On October 14, 2026, the coin traded near $2,503.75, down about 1%, with a market cap near $305.6 billion. Big Bitcoin swaps, large exchange deposits, and BitMine’s reported share buyback are all in play. 

ZKsync also launched Airbender Prime, while a THEO crypto hack rattled traders on Base. This update separates facts from noise. Are institutional buyers and tech upgrades enough to offset heavy ETH selling?

Ethereum News at a Glance: 6 Key Developments

• ETH price today: Near $2,503.75, down about 1%, with a market cap near $305.6 billion.

• BitMine: A reported $350 million share buyback and nearly 6 million coins held.

• Whale buying: About 35,346 ETH bought after selling BTC over three days.

• Large sales: A Galaxy Digital OTC whale sold out of 52,000 tokens, and Patricio Worthalter sent more ETH to Gemini.

• Lido DAO: A debate over its LDO buyback tool and 2027 budget.

• Ecosystem: ZKsync’s Airbender Prime launch and the reported THEO exploit on Base.

Ethereum News: Why ETH Is Under Pressure Near $2,500

ETH slipped about 1% to $2,503.75. Market reports said Ethereum fell harder than Bitcoin, which points to weaker relative strength on the day. Tom Lee also noted that coin price is down about 9% so far in 2026.

Large exchange deposits and OTC sales can weigh on sentiment. Still, a deposit is not proof of a sale. Readers should treat each transaction as an observable fact, not a confirmed plan. That is a key lesson in any Ethereum News market report built on on-chain data.

Source: CoinGecko Data

Ethereum News on BitMine $350M Buyback and ETH Whales

BitMine Completes Its Reported Buyback

On October 7, BitMine Chairman Tom Lee said BitMine had repurchased 21 million shares since July 14, worth $350 million. He said the buyback finished on August 17 and called it the largest in crypto history. 

BitMine also holds nearly 6 million tokens, close to its goal of owning 5% of the supply. Buying company shares is not the same as buying ETH, so the two moves send different signals. Lee said BitMine’s stock is up 3% this year while Ethereum is down 9%.

Source: BitMine BMNR

One Whale Swaps More Than 1000 BTC

On-chain analyst Ember reported that one whale sold 1,074.3 BTC over three days for 89.39 million USDC. It then bought 35,346 ETH at an average price near $2,529. In the last 24 hours alone, it sold 236.6 BTC and bought 7,845 ETH. This shows one holder shifting its allocation. It does not prove broad market demand.

Large ETH Sales Through OTC and Exchanges

Ember also tracked a Galaxy Digital OTC whale that sold its final 10,000 ETH, about $25 million. It bought 52,000 coins between July and September at an average of $2,161. It sold at about $2,632 for a profit near $24.49 million. Lookonchain put the last sale at 9,996 coins, with a similar profit.

Meanwhile, POAP founder Patricio Worthalter deposited another 10,000 tokens (about $25.05 million) to Gemini. That brings his transfers to 18,000 coins over nine days. Ember says he still holds about 41,468 tokens. Exchange deposits do not always mean completed sales.

Source: EmberCN, Lookonchain and OnChain Lens

Ethereum News on the Lido DAO Buyback Debate

Why Has NEST Not Executed Buybacks?

According to CryptoSlate, Lido’s NEST buyback tool has made no purchases since launching on August 10. Its spending counter stood at about negative $564,231 on October 13. The counter measures buyback capacity from staking revenue against a daily baseline of $109,589, or roughly $40 million a year. It does not measure the DAO’s actual profit.

Source: CryptoSlate

The Proposed $30 Million Budget

The community has proposed cutting the 2027 budget from about $43.8 million to $30 million and linking the buyback threshold to that budget. CryptoSlate’s modeling found that real spending cuts improve profit. At $30 million, modeled mean purchases reached $4.71 million. 

A counter reset lifted modeled spending about 8% without improving underlying profit. These are proposals, not approved decisions. LDO traded near $0.43.

Ethereum News on ZKsync Airbender Prime and the THEO Exploit

ZKsync Reports Faster Ethereum Proofs

Source: ZKsync X Post

ZKsync says Airbender Prime proved 7,200 consecutive Ethereum mainnet blocks on one NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell GPU. Of those blocks, 99% took under 10 seconds, and all finished within 12 seconds, including witness preparation. 

The prover uses the open RISC-V standard and hash-based STARK proofs, with an independent verifier. These are project-reported results, not a promise of near-term mainnet adoption.

THEO Incident Raises Security Concerns on Base

Source: PeckShield

PeckShield reports that attackers minted 19 million THEO tokens on Base without permission. They allegedly swapped them for 700.8 coins, about $1.76 million, and bridged the funds to Ethereum. THEO fell about 92% in 24 hours. Autheo is investigating and urges users not to buy, sell, or bridge THEO for now. The cause and final losses are not confirmed.

Ethereum News Timeline: Key Dates

1. July 14, 2026: BitMine’s buyback period begins.

2. August 10, 2026: Lido’s NEST launches.

3. August 17, 2026: BitMine’s buyback is reported complete. This precedes the October 7 disclosure, so verify it.

4. Late September 2026: The Galaxy OTC whale starts selling in batches.

5. October 13, 2026: CryptoSlate reviews the NEST counter and budget proposals.

6. October 14, 2026: Fresh whale swaps and the sales hit the market.

Conclusion: What Could Matter Most Next?

This Ethereum News roundup shows institutional buying, heavy whale selling, solid upgrades, and security risk all at once. No single transaction decides where coin goes next. 

Watch price and volume, verified institutional disclosures, Lido governance votes, further Airbender Prime updates, and official findings on the THEO incident.

YMYL Disclaimer: This Ethereum News article is for information and education only and is not investment advice. Cryptocurrency prices are volatile, and you can lose money. Verify on-chain claims and official announcements, and do your own research before making financial decisions.