A second major corporate player in the cryptocurrency market is now mirroring the buying patterns of the first. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Fundstrat's Tom Lee, recently acquired 101,901 ether, valued at approximately $234 million, marking its largest weekly purchase this year.
This move has brought Bitmine's buying pace closer to that of Strategy, a firm led by Michael Saylor, which regularly buys bitcoin. Notably, Strategy's weekly purchases, excluding large buys fueled by at-the-market sales of its perpetual preferred stock, range from $200 million to $300 million.
Bitmine's purchase is part of a four-month streak of increased buys, starting with roughly $76 million per week in early January, and has resulted in the firm holding over 5 million tokens, equivalent to about 4.21% of the circulating supply of the second-largest cryptocurrency. This development is significant as Bitmine is now the only major corporate crypto buyer keeping pace with Strategy. Most digital asset treasury companies had paused or slowed their accumulation following the February price drop, but Bitmine has continued to buy, with Lee suggesting that ether is in the late stages of a 'mini-crypto winter' and that a bottom is forming in equity markets.
The firm has staked about 73% of its tokens, generating roughly $264 million in annualized revenue from yield, with total crypto and cash holdings at $13.3 billion as of early April. Both Bitmine and Strategy employ similar capital markets strategies, including equity issuance and convertible debt, to purchase crypto assets. Despite facing pressure in February and early March, Bitmine has maintained its buying pace, which has not only held but accelerated.
If this pattern continues, ether may soon have a consistent corporate buyer absorbing supply each week, regardless of price.