A second major corporate player in the cryptocurrency market is mimicking the accumulation strategy of its predecessor. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Fundstrat's Tom Lee, has purchased 101,901 ether, valued at approximately $234 million, in its largest weekly buy this year. This move brings the company's accumulation pace closer to that of Strategy, a firm led by Michael Saylor, which regularly buys bitcoin. The comparison was highlighted by crypto trader Luke Martin, who noted that Strategy's typical weekly purchases range from $200 million to $300 million, excluding large buys fueled by at-the-market sales of its perpetual preferred stock.
Bitmine's purchase marks its largest weekly accumulation in 2026, capping a four-month streak of increasing buys that began at around $76 million per week in early January. The company now holds over 5 million tokens, representing 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 paused or slowed accumulation following the February price drop, but Bitmine has continued to buy, with Lee framing the pace as a response to the late stages of a 'mini-crypto winter' and a forming bottom 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 to purchase crypto assets, with Bitmine using equity issuance and Strategy using preferred stock and convertible debt. Despite facing pressure in February and early March, Bitmine has maintained its buying pace, which has accelerated in recent months.
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 have come within striking distance of each other. If this pattern continues, ether may have a consistent corporate buyer absorbing supply each week, regardless of price, for the first time.