A second major corporate player in the cryptocurrency market is now mirroring the buying patterns of the first. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Fundstrat's Tom Lee, has purchased 101,901 ether valued at approximately $234 million, a move that brings its weekly accumulation close to that of Strategy, the digital treasury firm headed by Michael Saylor. This development is notable as Bitmine's purchase is its largest this year and marks a four-month streak of increasing buys, which 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 escalation in buying is significant because Bitmine is now the only other major corporate entity keeping pace with Strategy's bitcoin accumulation. Most digital asset treasury companies paused or slowed their accumulation following the February price drop, but Bitmine has continued to buy, with Lee suggesting that ether is in the late stages of a 'mini-crypto winter' and that a bottom is 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 employ similar capital markets strategies to purchase crypto assets, with Strategy using preferred stock and convertible debt, and Bitmine using equity issuance. Despite facing pressure in February and early March due to nearly $8 billion in unrealized losses, Bitmine continued to buy, and two months later, ether is up 22% from its February lows. If this pattern continues, ether will have a corporate buyer equivalent to Strategy, absorbing supply each week regardless of price.