Bitmine Immersion Technologies chairman Tom Lee says the brief downturn in Ether may be abating after the firm purchased an additional $139 million worth of ETH, moving it closer to a stated goal of holding 5% of Ether’s circulating supply. Lee said Bitmine has increased its buying pace over the past three weeks and is treating the recent multi-month slump in Ether as a likely market floor.
Crypto markets experienced sharp losses late last year, with Bitcoin retreating from a peak cited above $126,000 in October and Ether sliding down from an August high around $4,946. The timing and strength of any sustained rebound have been widely debated since those declines.
Lee pointed to several positive signs that the downturn could be easing, including legislative progress with the CLARITY Act in Congress and crypto’s relative resilience during recent geopolitical turmoil in Iran. According to Lee, Ether has risen roughly 18% since the Iran conflict began and has outperformed equities by about 2,450 basis points, while gold has fallen more than 15% over the same period, suggesting crypto is showing store-of-value attributes in times of crisis.
Following its most recent purchase, Bitmine reported adding 65,341 ETH over the past week, bringing its total holdings to just over 4.6 million ether. Since announcing a strategic pivot into crypto eight months ago, the company has amassed roughly 3.86% of the estimated circulating supply of 120.6 million ETH. To reach a 5% stake at current supply levels, Bitmine would need approximately 1.4 million more tokens, a position that would cost about $2.9 billion at current prices, according to CoinGecko. It is noted that Ether’s supply changes over time depending on issuance and burns.
Bitmine has also committed heavily to staking, with more than three million ETH currently staked. The company’s reported balance sheet includes about $1.1 billion in cash, 196 Bitcoin, a $200 million stake in Beast Industries, and a $95 million stake in e-commerce inventory platform Eightco Holdings.
A wave of firms shifted into crypto in 2025, with Bitmine rising to become one of the largest ETH treasury holders, behind the largest holder associated with Michael Saylor. Analysts warn that some companies that pivoted to crypto may not maintain those positions long term, potentially prompting strategic changes or exits.
Data tracker StrategicEthReserve follows 67 large Ether treasury holders; Bitmine leads by a wide margin. Other large holders include SharpLink Gaming with about 863,000 ETH and Ether Machine with roughly 496,000 ETH.
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