A second major corporate player in the cryptocurrency market is emerging as a significant accumulator of digital assets, mirroring the strategy of a pioneer in the field. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Fundstrat's Tom Lee, has bought 101,901 ether, valued at approximately $234 million, in its largest weekly purchase this year. This move brings Bitmine closer to Strategy, a Michael Saylor-led company known for its substantial bitcoin purchases, with a weekly buying range of $200 million to $300 million, excluding large purchases fueled by at-the-market sales of its perpetual preferred stock, STRC. The recent purchase by Bitmine marks the end of a four-month streak of increasing buys, starting with $76 million per week in early January, and now holds over 5 million tokens, representing about 4.21% of the second-largest cryptocurrency's circulating supply.
This development is significant as Bitmine is now the only major corporate crypto buyer keeping pace with Strategy. Most digital asset treasury companies slowed or paused accumulation during the February price drop, but Bitmine continued buying, with Lee stating that ETH is in the late stages of a 'mini-crypto winter' and a bottom is forming in equity markets.
The firm has staked around 73% of its tokens, generating approximately $264 million in annualized revenue from yield, with total crypto and cash holdings at $13.3 billion as of early April. Both firms employ similar capital markets strategies to purchase crypto assets, with Strategy using preferred stock and convertible debt, and Bitmine using equity issuance. Despite facing pressure in February and early March with nearly $8 billion in unrealized losses, Bitmine maintained its buying pace, and two months later, ether has risen 22% from its February lows, with Bitmine's accumulation pace not only holding but accelerating.
If this pattern continues, ether will have a corporate buyer equivalent to Strategy, absorbing supply every week regardless of price.