BitMine Immersion Technologies, led by Tom Lee, has been aggressively accumulating Ethereum (ETH) even as broader markets exhibit heightened fear; the company now holds more than 3.86 million ETH, representing over 3.2% of supply. The move reflects a deliberate treasury strategy that treats price drops as buying opportunities and positions BitMine to benefit from institutional demand and protocol upgrades.
BitMine shifted from a Bitcoin-mining identity to an Ethereum-centric treasury company in mid‑2025 and accelerated purchases through capital raises and equity backing. Data from company disclosures and market reports show a single post-crash weekend purchase of over 200,000 ETH (approximately $827 million at reported levels), and a sequence of additional buys that have pushed holdings past 3.86 million ETH.
The company has stated an ambition to reach roughly 5% of total ETH supply; achieving that would further concentrate supply within a corporate treasury.
Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund took a 9% stake in BitMine, underlining institutional interest in the strategy. BitMine’s pace of accumulation has been compared to earlier corporate crypto plays: the company is reportedly acquiring ETH at a rate analysts describe as materially faster than MicroStrategy’s early Bitcoin buys.
That rapid buying has translated into volatile BMNR equity performance, with episodes of strong gains and sharp corrections.
BitMine’s accumulation strategy and scale
Tom Lee frames the purchases as a high‑conviction bet on several converging catalysts. He argues institutional adoption—especially interest in spot ETFs and corporate treasury allocations—will increase demand for ETH. Technological upgrades planned for the network, named Fusaka and Pectra in company and market commentary, are presented as enhancing scalability and utility and therefore supporting long‑term value.
Lee also highlights tokenization and AI integration as structural demand drivers: tokenization aims to enable fractional ownership of real‑world assets on-chain, while advanced AI agents may use a public blockchain as a neutral, verifiable execution layer. A short quote attributed to Lee encapsulates his view of market timing: “Market weakness often reflects liquidity crunches and market‑maker disruptions, not Ethereum’s fundamentals,” he said, framing dips as opportunities for “discount buying.”
The company and market analysts further cite protocol economics: Ethereum’s transaction fee burning mechanism reduces circulating supply over time. Definition: a burn mechanism permanently removes ETH from circulation by destroying a portion of fees paid on transactions. Combined with corporate accumulation, this mechanism is presented as a structural supply constraint that could amplify price sensitivity to demand shifts.
BitMine’s strategy is a deliberate, high‑conviction accumulation of ETH built on institutional demand, protocol upgrades and structural scarcity; it transforms the firm into an ETH‑centric treasury play and ties BMNR equity performance closely to ETH moves.
