A second major corporate player in the cryptocurrency space is mirroring the strategies of the first. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Fundstrat's Tom Lee, has purchased 101,901 ether worth approximately $234 million, a move that brings its weekly accumulation closer to that of Strategy, the Michael Saylor-led digital treasury company. This development is noteworthy as Bitmine's purchase represents its largest weekly acquisition of 2026, culminating a four-month streak of escalating buys that commenced at around $76 million per week in early January.
The firm now holds over 5 million tokens, equivalent to about 4.21% of the circulating supply of the second-largest cryptocurrency. This structural shift is significant because Bitmine is now the only major corporate crypto buyer maintaining a pace comparable to Strategy. Most digital asset treasury companies had paused or slowed their accumulation following the February price drop that saw bitcoin fall to the mid-$60,000s and ether drop below $1,900. However, Bitmine has continued its buying spree, with Lee attributing the pace to the belief that ETH is in the late stages of a 'mini-crypto winter' and that a bottom is forming in equity markets.
Since pivoting to its current strategy in June 2025, Bitmine has reached the 5 million ETH milestone in roughly 10 months, with about 73% of those tokens staked to generate approximately $264 million in annualized revenue from yield. The firm's total crypto and cash holdings stood at $13.3 billion as of early April. Both Bitmine and Strategy employ a similar playbook of capital markets activity to purchase crypto assets, with the former using equity issuance and the latter utilizing preferred stock and convertible debt.
Despite facing pressure in February and early March due to nearly $8 billion in unrealized losses against $16 billion in total purchases, Bitmine continued its buying strategy. Two months later, ether has risen 22% from its February lows, and Bitmine's accumulation pace has not only been maintained but has also accelerated. While Strategy's April 21 purchase of $2.54 billion remains the largest single corporate crypto buy of the year, Bitmine's $234 million purchase last week marks the first time the structural baselines of the two firms have come within striking distance of each other.
If this pattern persists for another month, ether will have a corporate buyer absorbing supply each week, regardless of price, a phenomenon it has never experienced before.