BitMine adds $1.5B in Ether to reserves after crypto sell-off

BitMine Immersion Technologies has accumulated about $1.5 billion worth of Ethereum since the market crash. The purchase is coming amid Fundstrat’s Tom Lee’s sentiment that digital assets treasury hype might be on its last legs. However, he maintained that he remains bullish on Ethereum as the market continues to move slowly.

According to reports, since the liquidation event that enveloped the market last weekend, BitMine has accumulated about 379,271 Ethereum, which is currently worth almost $1.5 billion in today’s market. The BitMine acquisition came in three separate purchases. The company purchased 202,037 ETH after the weekend crash, 104,336 ETH on Thursday, and 72,898 ETH on Saturday, according to data from on-chain platform Arkham Intelligence. While the purchases were also made public by BMNR Bullz, which tracks BitMine’s purchases, the firm has yet to confirm the purchases officially.

BitMine makes $1.5 billion ETH purchase post-crash

BitMine is one of the largest Ethereum treasury companies in the world, with a stash of more than three million ETH. The total cache represents about 2.5% of the entire supply, worth $11.7 billion. The company is currently halfway towards its target of owning at least 5% of the total Ethereum in circulation, with BitMine only kick-starting the acquisition of the asset around July 2025, when the asset was selling for around $2,500.

In an earlier interview, Lee claimed that Ethereum could eventually surpass Bitcoin’s market share, noting the way US equities overtook gold 54 years ago as a perfect example. He highlighted that it made the US abandon the gold standard. “Ethereum could flip Bitcoin, similar to how Wall Street and equities flipped gold post 71,” Lee told ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood on Thursday in his latest bullish statement on the asset. Presently, Bitcoin’s market cap is about five times larger than Ethereum’s.

Lee also echoed the same sentiment as BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, noting that Ethereum has what it takes to hit $10,000. Lee claimed in an interview that the asset has what it takes to still hit that figure this year, despite the recent market crash, and there being less than three months left to close out the year. “For Ethereum, somewhere between [$10,000] and $12,000,” Lee said on the Bankless podcast, when he was asked where the cryptocurrency’s price could trade by the end of this year.

Lee predicts continued aggressive accumulation of ETH

Lee also claimed that he still sees the continued aggressive accumulation of Ethereum despite his previous opinion that the digital asset treasury bubble may have burst. Speaking to Fortune recently, Lee mentioned that many digital asset treasuries (DAT) are trading below their net asset value (NAV), or the worth of their underlying crypto holdings. “If that’s not already a bubble burst … How would that bubble burst?” he added.

According to a report from research firm 10x Research, major DATs such as Metaplanet and Strategy were trading near or below their NAVs. The research firm released the report on Saturday, but noted that it is not all bad news for DATs with strong capital bases. It added that trading-savvy management teams may still generate meaningful alpha. Meanwhile, Huobi founder Li Lin wants some of the alpha and has reportedly raised $1 billion to invest in an Ethereum treasury.

Lee also mentioned after the trading day on Friday that investors were still “licking their wounds” from the record leverage flush, noting that there was still some gold envy, seeing as the commodity has posted impressive performances across the year. “This is not the top of the crypto cycle, but leveraged longs in crypto are near record lows, so I think […] we’re at the basement and working our way back up,” he said. Crypto markets are currently down about 15% from their October 7 record high, while gold prices have dropped 3% from their Thursday peak.

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