A second major corporate player in the cryptocurrency market is mirroring the actions of a pioneer in the field. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Fundstrat's Tom Lee, acquired 101,901 ether tokens valued at approximately $234 million last week, a purchase that brings it closer to the regular weekly buys of Strategy, a Michael Saylor-led firm known for its significant bitcoin holdings, as highlighted by crypto trader Luke Martin.
Strategy's typical weekly purchases range from $200 million to $300 million, excluding large buys fueled by the sale of its perpetual preferred stock, STRC. The recent purchase by Bitmine marks its largest weekly accumulation of ether this year, capping a four-month streak of increasing buys that began with roughly $76 million per week in early January. The firm now holds over 5 million ether tokens, representing about 4.21% of the circulating supply of the second-largest cryptocurrency.
This development is noteworthy because Bitmine is now the only major corporate buyer keeping pace with Strategy's bitcoin accumulation. Most digital asset treasury companies slowed or paused their accumulation following the February price drop that saw bitcoin fall to the mid-$60,000s and ether drop below $1,900. Lee believes that ether 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 ether milestone in roughly 10 months. The firm has staked about 73% of its tokens, generating approximately $264 million in annualized revenue from yield. Its total crypto and cash holdings stood at $13.3 billion as of early April. Both firms employ a similar approach to capital markets activity to purchase crypto assets, with Strategy using preferred stock and convertible debt, and Bitmine using equity issuance.
Bitmine's strategy faced pressure in February and early March when it was sitting on nearly $8 billion in unrealized losses against $16 billion in total purchases. However, the firm continued to buy, and two months later, ether has risen 22% from its February lows, and Bitmine's accumulation pace has not only held but accelerated. While Strategy's $2.54 billion purchase on April 21 remains the largest single corporate crypto buy this year, Bitmine's $234 million purchase last week brings the structural baselines of the two firms within striking distance of each other. If this pattern continues for another month, ether will have a corporate buyer equivalent to Strategy, absorbing supply each week regardless of price.