Bitmine expanded its Ethereum treasury to 5.4 million ETH while slowing purchases as it nears a 5% supply target.
Ethereum News
Ethereum (ETH) treasury firm Bitmine has bought another 26,497 $ETH, worth about $52 million. The purchase lifts its total holdings to 5,416,901 $ETH.
The buy brings Bitmine's stake to about 4.49% of the total $ETH supply, which stands at an estimated 120.7 million coins. Chairman Tom Lee said the firm expects to reach its 5% target sometime in 2026.
Lee said current prices do not match what he called improving Ethereum fundamentals, adding that the firm sits in the early stage of a crypto spring. He has said Bitmine would slow its buying so it does not hit 5% too soon.
The most recent purchase is a sharp slowdown. The firm bought nearly 112,000 ETH last week, its largest purchase of 2026. Earlier weekly buys ran from 45,000 to 76,000 ETH, and a peak rate of up to 100,000 ETH per week would have reached 5% by mid-July.
Strategy Sells Bitcoin as Bitmine Buys
The company has staked roughly 4.7 million ETH for annualized revenue of $258 million, relying on partners such as Coinbase alongside its own Made in America Validator Network (MAVAN). Lee said staking income could rise to $296 million a year once all of Bitmine's ETH is staked.
Bitmine shares traded near $19, down about 1.4% on the day and down 39% year-to-date. The firm, backed by investors including Ark Invest's Cathie Wood, Founders Fund, Pantera, Kraken, and Galaxy Digital, moved to the New York Stock Exchange from NYSE American on April 9.
Strategy, the largest crypto treasury with more than $60 billion in BTC, recently sold about $2.5 million of Bitcoin, its first sale since 2022. Bitcoin fell to its lowest level in nearly two months after the disclosure, and Strategy shares dropped to a 45-day low.
