Why Did Bitmine Slow Its Ethereum Buying Pace?
Bitmine Immersion Technologies sharply slowed its weekly Ethereum purchases after months of rapid accumulation that made it the world’s largest Ethereum treasury company.
The Tom Lee-chaired firm bought 26,659 ETH last week, worth about $62.1 million at current prices. The latest purchase lifted Bitmine’s Ethereum holdings to 5,206,790 ETH, valued at about $12.1 billion.
Bitmine said its total crypto and cash holdings now stand at $13.4 billion. Its ETH holdings equal about 4.3% of Ethereum’s current circulating supply of about 120.7 million ETH.
“We have decided to slow down our pace of weekly accumulation from >100,000 per week as we originally targeted reaching the ‘alchemy of 5%‘ target in late 2026. Our previous pace of >100k weekly buys would have us reach 5% by mid-July,” Lee said in the statement.
How Big Is Bitmine’s Ethereum Treasury?
Bitmine remains the largest public Ethereum treasury holder by a wide margin. Its closest peers include Joe Lubin’s SharpLink, with about 872,984 ETH, and The Ether Machine, with about 496,712 ETH, according to SER data cited in the source material.
The company is also the second-largest public crypto treasury firm overall, behind Michael Saylor’s Strategy, which holds 818,869 BTC worth about $66.5 billion.
Bitmine also holds 201 BTC, worth about $16.3 million, an $88 million stake in WLD treasury firm Eightco, and $775 million in cash. The figures show that Bitmine’s balance sheet remains overwhelmingly tied to Ethereum, even as it keeps smaller exposures to bitcoin, equity stakes, and cash reserves.
Investor Takeaway
Why Is Staking Central to Bitmine’s Model?
Bitmine has staked 4,712,917 ETH, worth about $11 billion. That represents more than 90% of its total Ethereum holdings and makes staking a core part of the company’s treasury strategy.
Lee said Bitmine has staked more ETH than any other entity and estimated annual staking revenue at $319 million. He also said projected annual ETH staking rewards could reach $352 million at scale, using a 2.86% 7-day annualized yield.
This gives Bitmine a recurring yield stream tied directly to Ethereum network participation. It also creates a different risk profile than passive treasury holdings, since returns depend on staking yields, validator performance, ETH price movements, and network conditions.
Investor Takeaway
What Is Tom Lee’s Case for Ethereum?
Lee tied Bitmine’s Ethereum strategy to his view that a new crypto cycle is underway, driven by tokenization and agentic AI.
“’Crypto spring’ has commenced and we wanted to highlight the importance of owning ETH as a source of diversification, and the likely drivers of this coming ‘crypto bull‘ cycle,” Lee said.
He added that Wall Street’s move to tokenization and agentic AI are the two main future drivers for Ethereum. Lee also said that if ETH closes above $2,100 at the end of May 2026, it would be the third consecutive monthly gain, a pattern he said has not appeared in a crypto bear market.
Bitmine’s recent uplisting to the New York Stock Exchange from NYSE American adds another institutional layer to the story. The company is backed by investors including Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood, Founders Fund, Bill Miller III, Pantera, Kraken, DCG, and Galaxy Digital.
The question for investors is whether Bitmine’s slower purchase pace is prudent balance sheet management or an early sign that large treasury buyers are becoming more selective after a rapid accumulation cycle.
