A second major corporate player in the cryptocurrency market is emerging with a buying pattern similar to that of the first. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Fundstrat's Tom Lee, has purchased 101,901 ether, valued at approximately $234 million, in its largest weekly buy this year. This move brings Bitmine's buying pace closer to that of Strategy, the Michael Saylor-led firm known for its significant bitcoin purchases.
Notably, Strategy's typical weekly buys range from $200 million to $300 million, excluding large purchases fueled by the sale of its perpetual preferred stock. Bitmine's recent purchase marks its largest weekly accumulation in 2026, following a four-month streak of increasing buys that started at around $76 million per week in early January.
The firm now holds over 5 million tokens, representing about 4.21% of the circulating supply of the second-largest cryptocurrency. This development is significant 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 during the February price drop, but Bitmine has continued to buy, with Tom Lee suggesting that the market 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 ETH milestone in roughly 10 months, with about 73% of those tokens staked to generate annualized revenue from yield. The firm's total crypto and cash holdings stood at $13.3 billion as of early April. Both Strategy and Bitmine employ similar capital markets strategies, including equity issuance and preferred stock sales, 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 also accelerated.
If this pattern continues, ether may soon have a consistent corporate buyer absorbing supply each week, regardless of price, similar to Strategy's role in the bitcoin market.