BitMine Immersion Technologies, led by Chairman Tom Lee, has significantly expanded its Ethereum holdings, acquiring an additional 40,302 ETH last week. This purchase brings the company's total Ethereum treasury to approximately 4.243 million tokens, valued at roughly $12.33 billion based on a price near $2,909 per ETH. This massive position represents about 3.52% of Ethereum's total circulating supply.
The acquisition marks a new milestone, solidifying BitMine's status as the largest known institutional holder of Ethereum. Its holdings now surpass the combined ETH reserves of several major Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). The firm's strategy is characterized by consistent, large-scale accumulation; over the past month alone, it has acquired over 370,000 ETH through weekly batches ranging from 24,000 to 138,000 tokens. Notably, these purchases have been executed without triggering significant price spikes, suggesting the use of over-the-counter trades or sophisticated algorithmic slippage control.
Beyond simple accumulation, BitMine is actively staking over 2 million of its ETH holdings to generate yield and is continuing to develop its MAVAN validator network. The company's portfolio is overwhelmingly concentrated on Ethereum, with a 99.86% allocation. For comparison, it holds only 192 Bitcoin, making its ETH position nearly 100 times larger than its BTC holdings. The firm has also stated it has not sold a single coin since beginning this aggressive accumulation phase in Q4 of 2025.
The scale and pace of this buying have fueled market speculation. Analysts suggest BitMine may be positioning ahead of a potential ETH supply shock, especially with nearly 30% of the supply locked in staking. Some models project a Q2 repricing scenario where Ethereum could reach a resistance zone between $3,800 and $4,400, should institutional demand follow BitMine's lead.
Chairman Tom Lee has provided insight into the firm's bullish thesis, recently hinting at an "Ethereum-centric AI convergence" during discussions at Davos. He described ETH as "the infrastructure backbone of Web3-AI capital flows." This strategic, long-term view positions BitMine's accumulation as one of the most aggressive institutional crypto bets in history, drawing comparisons to MicroStrategy's early and persistent accumulation of Bitcoin.
