Bitmine bought the dip, making its biggest ether purchase in 2026 as prices tanked
Bitmine bought 126,971 ETH last week, its biggest weekly purchase of 2026, even as ether prices sank sharply.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
Bitmine accelerated ether buying into a steep market drop, adding 126,971 ETH and lifting holdings to 5.54 million ETH. Chairman Tom Lee said the pullback does not match Ethereum’s improving fundamentals.
Bitmine is like a kid buying more of a toy when it goes on sale, betting it will be worth more later. Even though the toy’s price fell a lot, the company thinks Ethereum is still getting stronger underneath.
Analysis
What happened
Bitmine said it bought 126,971 ether over the past week, making it its largest weekly purchase of 2026. At current prices, that haul is worth roughly $214 million. The week before, the company bought about 26,497 ETH, and the week before that it bought nearly 120,000 ETH.
The purchase lifted Bitmine’s total holdings to 5.54 million ETH, or about $9.3 billion at current prices. The company also said it holds $247 million in cash, some bitcoin, and stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings.
Why the buying matters
This was a reversal from Bitmine’s earlier message that it would slow accumulation as it moved closer to its goal of controlling 5% of ether’s outstanding supply. The company now says it holds 4.59% of ETH supply and expects to reach the 5% target later this year.
Tom Lee said the company increased buying because it believes the price drop does not reflect stronger Ethereum fundamentals. That is the core thesis behind the treasury strategy: keep adding during weakness if the long-term network case is intact.
Bigger picture
Bitmine is still one of the few large digital asset treasury firms actively adding to its holdings while many peers have paused buying or shifted toward selling as crypto prices weakened. The bet has not been painless. The article says the company is sitting on about $9.6 billion in paper losses as ETH fell to its weakest level in more than a year, about 65% below its August peak.
The company is also planning to issue a preferred equity class with dividends to raise more capital, borrowing from Strategy’s bitcoin treasury model. But that approach is under scrutiny across the market as investors question whether large crypto treasuries can comfortably service dividend obligations if prices keep sliding.
Key points
- Bitmine bought 126,971 ETH last week, its biggest weekly ether purchase of 2026.
- The company now holds 5.54 million ETH, worth about $9.3 billion at current prices.
- Chairman Tom Lee said the company is buying because it thinks the ETH pullback does not match stronger Ethereum fundamentals.
- Bitmine now says it owns 4.59% of ether supply and expects to reach 5% later this year.
- The firm is also planning a dividend-paying preferred equity class to raise more capital.
If Ethereum’s fundamentals keep improving, Bitmine’s aggressive buying could look prescient and help it build a larger position before the market recovers. Reaching its 5% supply target could also strengthen its role as a major long-term Ethereum holder.
If ETH keeps falling, the company’s paper losses could deepen and make the treasury strategy harder to defend. Its plan to raise more money through preferred equity could also face investor pushback if markets remain weak and dividend obligations look risky.
