CoinDesk
Bitmine Immersion Technologies bought 52,203 ETH worth roughly $92 million last week, lifting the firm's total holdings to 5.67 million ETH, now valued near $10 billion and equal to 4.7% of Ethereum's circulating supply. The purchase was smaller than the prior two weeks, yet keeps Bitmine on pace to hit its long-stated goal of accumulating 5% of ETH supply later this year; the company says it is now 94% of the way to that target.
Chairman Thomas "Tom" Lee said Bitmine will keep accumulating through 2026 and reiterated that the crypto market is in the "early stages of crypto spring," a recovery from the October 2025 liquidation shock. He pointed to tokenization and artificial-intelligence workloads as the structural demand drivers for Ethereum adoption over the coming years.
Why it matters
Bitmine is staking 4.72 million ETH, more than 83% of its treasury, and projects roughly $223 million in annualized staking revenue, with upside to $268 million through its MAVAN platform. That recurring yield is the engine behind the firm's preferred-share financing push: Bitmine recently raised about $274 million via 3.5 million shares of 9.50% Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, trading on the NYSE under ticker BMNP with weekly cash dividends. The model mirrors Strategy's MSTR playbook but in an ETH wrapper, and that comparison is doing some of the work on the share price: BMNR has felt the same gravity that pulled on bitcoin-treasury peers when preferred-product appetite cooled.
Lee's broader macro call has not yet been validated. At Consensus Miami he argued the bear market would be "definitely" over if bitcoin closed May above $76,000; BTC instead finished below $74,000 and briefly slipped under $60,000 in early June. The pullback has not dented his framing, only his timeline.
Market impact
Bitmine still holds $601 million in cash and marketable securities, so the slowing pace is a capital-allocation choice rather than a balance-sheet constraint.
Frequently asked questions
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How much ETH does Bitmine now hold?
Bitmine holds 5.67 million ETH after last week's 52,203 ETH purchase. At roughly $1,760 per ETH, the stash is valued near $10 billion and represents 4.7% of Ethereum's circulating supply.
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What is Bitmine's 5% of ETH target and how close is it?
Bitmine's long-standing goal is to accumulate 5% of ETH supply. The company says it is now 94% of the way there, putting the target within reach later this year even as the pace of weekly buys has slowed.
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How does Bitmine fund its ETH accumulation?
Bitmine stakes 4.72 million ETH via its MAVAN platform, projecting about $223M in annualized staking revenue with upside to $268M. It has also raised roughly $274M via 3.5M shares of 9.50% Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock on the NYSE under ticker BMNP, paying weekly cash dividends.
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What is Tom Lee's 'crypto spring' call?
Chairman Tom Lee said the crypto market is in the "early stages of crypto spring," a recovery from the October 2025 liquidation shock. He points to tokenization and AI workloads as structural demand drivers for Ethereum adoption, even though his BTC-above-$76K-in-May bear-market signal did not trigger.
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What staking returns is Bitmine projecting?
Bitmine projects roughly $223 million in annualized staking revenue through its MAVAN platform, with potential staking rewards reaching $268 million annually. More than 83% of its ETH holdings are currently staked.
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