A second major corporate player in the cryptocurrency market is beginning to mirror the actions of the first. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Fundstrat's Tom Lee, has purchased approximately $234 million worth of ether, comprising 101,901 tokens. This significant buy aligns closely with the regular weekly purchases made by Strategy, a digital treasury firm headed by Michael Saylor, as highlighted by prominent crypto trader Luke Martin. Strategy's typical weekly buys range from $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 its largest weekly accumulation of ether in 2026, culminating a four-month streak of increasing buys that started at around $76 million per week in early January. The firm now holds over 5 million tokens, representing about 4.21% of the circulating supply of the second-largest cryptocurrency.
This development is noteworthy because Bitmine has emerged as the only major corporate crypto buyer that is keeping pace with Strategy. Most digital asset treasury companies have either paused or slowed down their accumulation following the February price drop that affected bitcoin and ether. However, Bitmine has continued its buying spree, with Tom Lee suggesting that ether is nearing the end 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 approximately 10 months.
About 73% of these tokens have been staked, generating around $264 million in annualized revenue from yield. As of early April, the firm's total crypto and cash holdings stood at $13.3 billion. Both Bitmine and Strategy employ a similar approach to capital markets activity, using equity issuance and preferred stock to purchase crypto assets. Despite facing pressure in February and early March due to unrealized losses, Bitmine continued its buying strategy.
Two months later, ether has seen a 22% increase from its February lows, and Bitmine's accumulation pace has not only been maintained but has also accelerated. While Strategy's $2.54 billion purchase in April remains the largest single corporate crypto buy of the year, Bitmine's recent $234 million purchase brings the structural baselines of the two firms within striking distance of each other. If this pattern persists for another month, ether will have a consistent corporate buyer absorbing supply every week, regardless of price, for the first time.