A second major player in corporate cryptocurrency accumulation is emerging, mirroring the approach of the first. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Fundstrat's Tom Lee, has purchased 101,901 ether, valued at approximately $234 million, marking its largest weekly buy this year. This move brings Bitmine closer to Strategy's typical weekly bitcoin purchases, which range from $200 million to $300 million, excluding large buys fueled by at-the-market sales of its perpetual preferred stock, STRC.
The purchase caps a four-month streak of escalating buys for Bitmine, which 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 during the February price drop, but Bitmine has continued to buy, with Lee framing the pace as a response to ETH being in the late stages of a 'mini-crypto winter' and a bottom 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 firms share a playbook of capital markets activity to purchase crypto assets, with Bitmine's strategy put under pressure in February and early March but continuing to buy and accelerate its accumulation pace.