Bitmine’s ETH Purchases Slow Following 5.2 Million Target Achievement
Tom Lee has scaled back Bitmine’s ETH acquisitions after the company accumulated over 5.2 million tokens, representing 4.3% of Ethereum’s total supply.
Summary
- Last week, Bitmine obtained 26,659 ETH, valued at about $63 million, a significant reduction from the excess of 100,000 ETH it had been purchasing weekly for the previous three weeks.
- Tom Lee noted that at the prior accumulation rate, Bitmine would have reached its 5% Ethereum supply goal by mid-July, leading to the decision to slow down.
- Bitmine currently has over 4.7 million ETH staked, yielding an estimated $319 million in annual staking rewards at current rates.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) purchased 26,659 ETH last week for approximately $63 million, markedly less than the more than 100,000 ETH acquired each week for several months. This latest acquisition increased total holdings to over 5.2 million ETH, valued at around $12.1 billion, positioning Bitmine as the largest Ethereum treasury firm globally.
Chairman Tom Lee explained that the firm intentionally decided to reduce its buying rate. “We chose to slow our weekly accumulation from over 100,000 to avoid hitting 5% too quickly,” he stated. “At our earlier rate, we would have reached 5% by mid-July.”
Reasons for Bitmine’s purchase slowdown
Initially, Bitmine aimed to meet its 5% Ethereum supply target by late 2026. However, the rapid accumulation rate drastically accelerated that timeline, necessitating a reassessment. The firm now owns 4.31% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, which is approximately 120.7 million ETH.
Lee reiterated his belief that a “crypto spring” has commenced, citing Ethereum’s recent price rebound. “If ETH closes above $2,100 at the end of May, it will mark the third consecutive monthly gain—a rarity in a bear market,” he remarked.
Since the beginning of 2026, Bitmine has acquired over 1 million ETH. As of May 10, its total cryptocurrency, cash, and equity assets amounted to $13.4 billion, including 201 Bitcoin, a $200 million investment in Beast Industries, and $775 million in cash.
Staking strategy and future outlook
Bitmine has staked 4,712,917 ETH, accounting for more than 90% of its total holdings, generating an estimated $319 million in annualized staking rewards at a 2.86% seven-day yield. This makes it the largest ETH staker among public companies globally.
The firm’s MAVAN staking platform, launched earlier in 2026, is being developed to cater to institutional clients, alongside Bitmine’s treasury operations.
According to Lee, the two primary catalysts for Ethereum’s growth moving forward are Wall Street’s transition to tokenization and the emergence of agentic AI systems that depend on public blockchains for transactions and validation.