BitMine, the world’s largest corporate holder of Ether, leveraged last weekend’s market downturn to significantly expand its holdings, demonstrating continued institutional confidence in Ethereum. The company said it purchased Ether more aggressively during the recent market volatility, bringing its total holdings to over 3 million ETH, representing roughly 2.5% of the cryptocurrency’s total supply. BitMine’s average purchase price for the recent acquisitions was $4,154 per token. Between Friday and Monday, the firm acquired 202,037 ETH, valued at approximately $827 million, according to a statement on X. This increase pushed BitMine’s overall crypto portfolio to $13.4 billion, which includes $12.9 billion in cryptocurrency and “moonshot” investments, 192 Bitcoin, $104 million in cash, and a $135 million stake in Nasdaq-listed Eightco Holdings. The purchases came amid a sharp market correction on Friday, which triggered around $19 billion in liquidations over the weekend. Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine and head of research at Fundstrat, said the market downturn created an opportunity to buy Ethereum at discounted prices. “The crypto liquidation over the past few days created a price decline in ETH, which BitMine took advantage of,” Lee said. He added that the company is now “more than halfway towards our initial pursuit of the ‘alchemy of 5%’ of ETH.” Lee also highlighted the broader investment logic, stating, “Volatility creates deleveraging, and this can cause assets to trade at substantial discounts to fundamentals, or as we say, ‘substantial discount to the future,’ and this creates advantages for investors, at the expense of traders.” BitMine’s approach may influence other institutional investors to adopt similar long-term accumulation strategies. Interest in the company extends beyond crypto investors, as its stock, BMNR, was recently the 22nd most widely traded on U.S. markets, averaging over $3.5 billion in five-day trading volume as of Friday. Despite this, BMNR’s stock price fell 11% over the past five days, following a short position by Kerrisdale Capital, which criticized BitMine’s business model as “on its way to extinction.” The company’s dual focus on cryptocurrency and traditional equities reflects a broader trend of institutional participation in digital assets.
