A second major corporate player in the cryptocurrency market, Bitmine Immersion Technologies, is now mirroring the buying patterns of its counterpart, Strategy. Led by Fundstrat's Tom Lee, Bitmine purchased 101,901 ether, valued at approximately $234 million, in its largest weekly buy this year. This move brings Bitmine's accumulation pace closer to that of Strategy, which is led by Michael Saylor and is known for its significant bitcoin purchases. Notably, Strategy's buys, excluding large at-the-market sales of its perpetual preferred stock, typically range between $200 million and $300 million weekly.
Bitmine's recent purchase marks its largest weekly acquisition of 2026 and caps a four-month streak of escalating buys that began 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 development is significant as Bitmine is now the only major corporate buyer keeping pace with Strategy. Most digital asset treasury companies slowed or paused accumulation following the February price drop, but Bitmine has continued to buy, with Lee suggesting that ETH 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 staked about 73% of its tokens, generating roughly $264 million in annualized revenue from yield. The company's total crypto and cash holdings stood at $13.3 billion as of early April. Both Bitmine and Strategy employ similar capital markets strategies, including equity issuance and preferred stock, to purchase crypto assets. Despite facing pressure in February and early March due to unrealized losses, Bitmine continued to buy, and its accumulation pace has not only held but accelerated.
While Strategy's April 21 purchase of $2.54 billion remains the largest single corporate crypto buy of the year, Bitmine's $234 million purchase last week marks the first time the structural baselines of the two companies have come close to each other. If this pattern continues, ether may soon have a consistent corporate buyer absorbing supply weekly, regardless of price.