BitMine Immersion Technologies, a leading digital asset treasury firm focused on Ethereum, has stepped up its crypto acquisition pace, with Chairman Tom Lee citing growing indications that the current 'mini-winter' in the crypto market is coming to an end. The company announced on Monday that it had purchased 101,627 ether in the previous week, marking its largest weekly acquisition since December 15. This purchase, valued at over $230 million at current prices, brings BitMine's total ETH holdings to 4.97 million. Notably, this move comes at a time when most other digital asset treasury companies, with the exception of Michael Saylor's bitcoin-focused Strategy, have either slowed down or halted their buying activities.
As a result, BitMine remains one of the primary large-scale buyers of ether, providing a consistent source of demand for the cryptocurrency. The firm's total holdings of crypto and cash now stand at $12.9 billion, comprising 199 bitcoin, $1.12 billion in cash, and equity stakes in various companies, including Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings.
According to Lee, the company believes that the recent downturn in crypto prices is nearing its end, pointing to the rebound in ETH and broader market trends. 'Bitmine has maintained an increased pace of ETH purchases over the past four weeks, as our forecast suggests that ETH is in the final stages of the 'mini-crypto winter',' Lee stated. Furthermore, he noted that ether has seen a significant surge from its early February lows and has outperformed equities since the start of the Iran conflict on February 28, driven by demand related to tokenization and AI-related applications.
In addition to its ETH acquisitions, BitMine has continued to expand its staking operations, with over 3.3 million ETH staked, generating approximately $221 million in annualized revenue.