BitMine, the largest institutional holder of Ethereum (ETH), has executed another massive purchase of the altcoin, acquiring 100,000 ETH worth approximately $233.7 million. The transaction, revealed by on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain, saw three newly created wallets receive the funds from crypto custodian BitGo. While an official confirmation of the connection to BitMine is still pending, market participants widely believe the wallets are associated with the treasury company backed by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee.
This latest acquisition brings BitMine's total Ethereum holdings close to 5 million ETH, currently estimated at 4.976 million. The move comes on the heels of BitMine staking 61,200 ETH, valued at around $142 million, just one day prior. This staking activity has increased the firm's staked ETH reserves to over 3.39 million tokens, representing a substantial 68.24% of all its ETH holdings. This strategy signals a strong long-term conviction in the asset's future value, even as the broader crypto market experiences a downturn due to geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran.
In a separate but related event, a large whale identified as wallet 0x65B4 has also re-entered the market. After selling 10,829 ETH three days ago at an average price of $2,300, the whale purchased 7,448 ETH today at an average price of $2,350. This quick return to buying suggests that major holders are navigating short-term volatility with continued confidence in ETH.
Despite these significant institutional and whale activities, the price of Ethereum has not seen a positive reaction. Currently trading around $2,337, ETH is down by nearly 2% over the past 24 hours. Analysts suggest this short-term price weakness is a result of the broader bearish market sentiment, driven by external macroeconomic factors, rather than any negative sentiment specific to the Ethereum ecosystem.
