A notable trend is emerging in the corporate cryptocurrency accumulation space, as Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) is now mirroring the buying patterns of Strategy (MSTR), a well-known bitcoin treasury firm. Led by Fundstrat's Tom Lee, Bitmine acquired 101,901 ether (ETH) valued at approximately $234 million, its largest weekly purchase this year.
This development brings Bitmine's accumulation pace closer to Strategy's regular weekly buys, which typically range from $200 million to $300 million, excluding large purchases fueled by at-the-market sales of its perpetual preferred stock STRC. By stripping out these outliers, it becomes clear that Bitmine is now the only major corporate crypto buyer keeping pace with Strategy. The firm's purchase capped a four-month streak of escalating buys, which began at roughly $76 million per week in early January, and it now holds over 5 million tokens, representing about 4.21% of the second-largest cryptocurrency's circulating supply. This structural development is significant, as most digital asset treasury companies paused or slowed accumulation during the February price drop.
Bitmine's buying pace is driven by Tom Lee's belief that ETH is in the late stages of a 'mini-crypto winter' and that a bottom is forming in equity markets. The firm has staked around 73% of its tokens, generating approximately $264 million in annualized revenue from yield, with total crypto and cash holdings standing at $13.3 billion as of early April.
Both Strategy and Bitmine employ a similar capital markets strategy to purchase crypto assets, with the former using preferred stock and convertible debt, and the latter utilizing equity issuance. Despite facing pressure in February and early March, when it was sitting on nearly $8 billion in 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 have come within striking distance of each other. If this pattern continues, ether may soon have a consistent corporate buyer absorbing supply each week, regardless of price.