Tom Lee: ETH's upside move was overdue as Bitmine buys 32,447 more ether

Bitmine Immersion, the Ethereum treasury company chaired by Tom Lee, bought another 32,447 ETH, pushing its holdings to 5,847,611 ETH, worth roughly $14.7 billion at current prices, The Block reported.

The purchase follows Bitmine's last update on Aug. 17. The company's total crypto, cash, marketable securities, and other investments stood at $14.9 billion as of Monday. Bitmine didn't disclose the average purchase price for the latest batch, though at current prices the acquisition is worth around $81.5 million, the latest step in a run of weekly buys we've tracked.

“We believe this upside move in ETH was overdue given the strengthening fundamentals in crypto, the multiple tailwinds of Wall Street tokenization, and agentic-AI. Moreover, the fact that the White House signaled support for crypto and the Treasury buying long-term bonds supported improved risk appetite.”

— Tom Lee, Chairman, Bitmine Immersion

Lee tied the purchase to a specific signal. "ETH gained 30% in the past week. This is the largest weekly gain since May 2025, prior to that it was July 2021. In those two precedent instances, this weekly gain of >30% signaled a launch point for a larger move in ETH," he said, adding that Bitmine expects easing financial conditions to keep acting as a tailwind for crypto.

Bitmine and its peers follow a model popularized by Strategy: raise capital through equity and debt, then hold the underlying asset on the balance sheet rather than trade it, betting the stock trades at a premium to the treasury's net asset value as long as investors want leveraged exposure to the token without buying it directly.

Beyond ETH, Bitmine holds 210 BTC worth $16.6 million, an $89 million stake in Eightco Holdings, a $180 million stake in Beast Industries, and $308 million in cash and marketable securities as of Aug. 23. The company's ether position alone equals about 4.8% of Ethereum's circulating supply, which sits near 120.7 million ETH.

Staking makes up most of that position. Bitmine has staked 5,067,309 ETH, worth $12.7 billion, or 87% of its total holdings. "Bitmine has staked more ETH than other entities in the world," Lee said, projecting annualized staking rewards of $381 million based on a 2.67% seven-day BMNR yield, with annualized staking revenue now projected at $330 million.

• New purchase: 32,447 ETH, worth about $81.5 million at current prices
• Total ETH holdings: 5,847,611 ETH, worth roughly $14.7 billion
• Share of Ethereum's circulating supply: about 4.8%
• Staked ETH: 5,067,309 ETH ($12.7 billion), 87% of total holdings
• Projected annualized staking revenue: $330 million

Bitmine remains the largest Ethereum treasury holder by a wide margin. SharpLink, chaired by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, holds around 863,020 ETH, and The Ether Machine holds about 496,712 ETH, according to Strategic Ether Reserve data. Across all public crypto treasury companies, Bitmine ranks second overall, behind only Michael Saylor's Strategy, which holds 840,447 BTC worth $65.8 billion, about 4% of bitcoin's fixed 21 million supply.

The purchase keeps Bitmine adding to its position through a week Lee is treating as a turning point rather than a one-off spike, betting the same historical pattern that preceded larger moves in 2021 and 2025 is repeating now.

Nothing here should be taken as financial advice — just information to consider.