A second major corporate player in the cryptocurrency market is mirroring the strategies of the first. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Fundstrat's Tom Lee, acquired 101,901 ether, valued at approximately $234 million, in its most substantial weekly purchase of 2026.
This move brings Bitmine closer to Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, which regularly buys bitcoin, as observed by prominent crypto trader Luke Martin. Strategy's typical weekly purchases range from $200 million to $300 million, excluding large buys fueled by at-the-market sales of its STRC stock. Bitmine's purchase culminates a four-month streak of increasing buys, starting with roughly $76 million per week in early January, and now holds over 5 million tokens, approximately 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 slowed or paused accumulation during the February price drop, but Bitmine continued, with Lee suggesting that ETH is in the late stages of a 'mini-crypto winter' and a bottom is forming in equity markets. Since pivoting to its current strategy in June 2025, Bitmine has staked about 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 capital markets activity to purchase crypto assets.
Despite facing pressure in February and early March with nearly $8 billion in unrealized losses, Bitmine maintained its buying strategy, 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 absorbing supply each week, similar to Strategy's bitcoin acquisitions.