Key Highlights
- Bitmine scooped up 60,999 ETH last week, its biggest single-week purchase in 2026, plus 5,000 ETH bought OTC from the Ethereum Foundation to help fund its ops without market sales.
- The firm’s total holdings now reached 4,595,562 ETH (roughly 3.81% of the ~120.7 million circulating supply), with 3,040,515 ETH staked generating $180 million in annualized revenue.
- Chairman Tom Lee links the ramp-up to ETH outperforming the S&P 500 by 2,450 basis points since the Iran war began, as investors chase “growth assets” amid oil-driven slowdown fears.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE American: BMNR) reported its largest weekly Ethereum purchase of the year last week, adding 60,999 ETH and lifting total holdings to 4,595,562 ETH. At current levels, that stake equals roughly 3.81% of Ethereum’s circulating supply of about 120.7 million tokens.
In the official release, the company also disclosed a separate 5,000 ETH over-the-counter (OTC) buy directly from the Ethereum Foundation. Chairman Tom Lee described the deal as support for the foundation’s operations, allowing it to raise funds without dumping tokens on public exchanges.
Bitmine’s portfolio and revenue
Of the total ETH, 3,040,515 tokens, about 66% are staked, valued at nearly $7 billion. Bitmine’s own staking operations posted a 7-day yield of 2.81% (slightly above the Composite Ethereum Staking Rate of 2.79%), generating current annualized staking revenue of $180 million. Once fully deployed through partners and the upcoming MAVAN network, Lee projects rewards reaching $272 million annually.
MAVAN, the “Made in America Validator Network,” remains on schedule for a Q1 2026 launch with three staking providers already lined up. Lee calls it a “best-in-class” secure infrastructure play to maximize yield and control.
The company’s broader portfolio—including 196 BTC, $1.2 billion in cash, a $200 million position in Beast Industries, and an $83 million stake in Eightco Holdings—now totals $11.5 billion.
Macro context driving accumulation
Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee tied the accelerated buying to macro shifts: “Since the start of the Iran war, crypto prices have outperformed and Ethereum has outperformed the S&P 500 by 2,450bp. This is a meaningful outperformance in a mere two weeks.” He argued higher oil prices and growth worries are driving investors toward “growth assets” like crypto, software stocks, and the MAG7 group.
“Bitmine has slightly increased the pace of ETH buys in each of the past two weeks, as our base case is ETH is in the final stages of the ‘mini-crypto winter’”, he adds.
At 3.81% of supply, Bitmine is already 76% of the way to its “Alchemy of 5%” target in eight months. Backed by ARK Invest (Cathie Wood), Founders Fund, Pantera, Galaxy, and others, the firm ranks as the top public Ethereum treasury holder and second-largest overall crypto treasury play.
Lee noted the pace has ticked up recently, from 45,000–50,000 ETH weekly to this bigger haul, as the company views ETH as exiting a “mini crypto winter.”
Also read: Ethereum OGs Load Up: Early Builders and Whales Scoop Millions in ETH
