Newsletter

• Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee stated on Token2049 that once the company holds 5% of the circulating supply of Ethereum, it will cease purchasing Ethereum.
• Bitmine currently holds 6,016,414 ETH, which is approximately 4.9% of the circulating supply. They have been buying on a weekly basis since June 2025; once this continuous buying trend ends, the market will lose a long-term and stable buyer.
• According to tracking data, the company currently has an unrealized loss of approximately $4.5 billion on its books, with most of its positions established during the previously higher bull market price range.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies is set to slow down its offensive. Chairman Tom Lee stated that once the company's holdings of Ethereum reach 5% of the token's circulating supply, the company will cease purchasing, drawing a clear line as one of the most stable sources of demand in the market.

At the Token2049 conference held in Singapore on Wednesday, Lee stated that the company is still about 100,000 ETH short of this milestone. Based on last week's purchasing pace, Bitmine will likely stop purchasing in another six to seven weeks.

Lee said on stage: "We originally thought it would take five years. But in fact, we completed it in a little over a year. More importantly, we did all this during a bear market. Now, we need to take a break."

Since the company launched its fund reserve strategy in June 2025, Bitmine has been buying Ethereum on a weekly basis, creating a stable buying force that has played a supporting role during periods of significant market volatility for this token.

This also makes the upcoming cessation of buying worth paying attention to for the broader market. The weekly purchases by Bitmine have always been a source of sustained demand, and with the end of this activity, the market will lose a buyer that has been continuously absorbing ETH for over a year.

However, as they reach this milestone, Bitmine's financial situation is not easy. According to tracking data, since most of their increases in holdings occurred during last year's bull market when prices were higher, as of Wednesday when Ethereum was trading around $2,570, the company's unrealized loss on its holdings of ETH amounted to approximately $4.5 billion.

Ethereum fell by 5.5% on Wednesday, a decline that surpassed most major cryptocurrencies. During the Asian trading session, its price plummeted significantly, coinciding with the time when Lee made the aforementioned remarks.

Nevertheless, Lee still regards this achievement as a point of pride: the company managed to complete what was originally a five-year plan in just over a year. Once the 5% threshold is reached, Bitmine's landmark buying campaign, along with the resulting market demand, will also come to an end.