Bitmine Immersion Technologies bought another 27,180 ether last week, worth about $68 million at Monday’s price near $2,500, moving the company within roughly 144,000 tokens of its goal of owning 5 percent of Ethereum’s supply. The purchase lifts the treasury firm’s total holdings to 5,956,378 ETH. With ether’s circulating supply at about 122 million tokens, the 6.1 million target is now in sight if the company keeps its current pace.
The buying has been remarkably steady. Bitmine has added ether every week since launching its treasury strategy in June 2025, and last week’s haul came in at about the same size as the week before. The company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BMNR and closed at $24.84 on Monday.
Lee’s case for ether
Tom Lee, the firm’s chairman and founder of Fundstrat, laid out the demand case in comments this week. One argument centers on ether’s relative strength against bitcoin. The ETH-BTC ratio has climbed to its highest level since January 30 and broke above a downtrend that had held since 2022, according to Lee. When that ratio rises, ether is outperforming bitcoin, which historically signals appetite for the broader altcoin market.
He also pointed to potential US crypto legislation as a catalyst. The Senate holds a procedural vote on the CLARITY Act at 2:15 p.m. ET Tuesday, requiring 60 votes to advance. Senate Republicans released a final draft over the weekend with ethics language approved by the White House, and Bernstein analysts said Monday the bill now looks more likely to progress than markets assumed last week.
Bernstein’s note carried a hedge. Even if the legislation fails, the analysts wrote, US crypto regulation could keep advancing because the SEC and CFTC are moving ahead with rulemaking under their existing authorities. CFTC Chair Michael Selig has said regulators may ultimately have to establish the rules if Congress does not.
A crowded field of buyers
Bitmine is the largest Ethereum-focused digital asset treasury firm, but it is not the only one buying. Ether ETFs posted their fourth straight week of net inflows last week, taking in $196.9 million while bitcoin ETFs shed $462.7 million. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust alone pulled in $148.8 million on Friday, and 21Shares’ Core Ethereum ETF added $29.1 million the same day.
The flow split matters for price. Ether traded around $2,500 on Monday, up about 1 percent, while bitcoin held near $77,800. Both rose even as technology stocks sold off on calls from AI executives to slow development, and as Brent crude climbed above $107 a barrel. Crypto sitting out the tech selloff was itself a story: traders have treated digital assets as uncorrelated this week even as Nasdaq futures fell.
Solana and XRP funds also stayed positive last week, drawing $10.3 million and $18.98 million respectively, so the rotation away from bitcoin funds is not a rotation away from crypto entirely. That distinction has shaped sentiment: money is moving within the asset class rather than leaving it.
Why the 5 percent goal matters
The 5 percent threshold is not arbitrary. It echoes the concentration levels that large corporate bitcoin buyers have reached, and crossing it would make Bitmine one of the most concentrated single-asset treasury holders in crypto. At current supply, 5 percent equals about 6.1 million ETH, worth roughly $15 billion at Monday prices.
The accumulation also affects the market itself. Treasury firms and ETFs together now absorb a meaningful share of new ether issuance, which has fallen since the network’s fee burn and reduced staking emissions. Sustained buying at this scale tightens float, something Lee has argued supports price over time. On-chain analysts track the combined ETF and treasury holdings as a supply-overhang metric, and each weekly purchase adds to a pile that is increasingly unlikely to be sold quickly.
Risks on the other side
The strategy is not without critics. Treasury firms that buy their own asset with equity-funded purchases amplify drawdowns when prices fall, and Bitmine’s shares track both ether and the premium investors place on its stash. A sharp ether decline would compress that premium quickly, as happened to bitcoin treasury firms during past drawdowns.
There is also regulatory uncertainty. The CLARITY Act could fail its Tuesday vote, and even Bernstein, which sees progress as more likely, noted that a failed vote would leave regulatory questions unresolved. The firm added that SEC and CFTC rulemaking would continue regardless, which it said could help crypto stocks regain ground after an immediate negative reaction.
Macro pressure adds another layer. The Federal Reserve decides on rates September 15, with futures pricing an 87 to 88 percent chance of a quarter-point hike. A hawkish tone from Chair Kevin Warsh could hit risk assets broadly, treasury firms included. Japan’s central bank meets the same week and is expected to raise rates to 1.25 percent, a level last seen in 1995, which keeps global liquidity conditions tight. The Bank of England also decides this week, making it a rare stretch where three major central banks act within days.
For now, the accumulation continues at a metronomic pace. Another 144,000 ETH at last week’s rate would take roughly five more weeks of buying, putting the 5 percent milestone within reach before the end of the year if nothing changes. Whether the milestone itself moves the market or merely marks it is the question traders will watch as the total ticks upward each Monday.