The end of the buy-streak
If you’ve been keeping an eye on your bags, you know Bitmine has been the main character of ETH accumulation lately. But the plot thickens: Bitmine chairman Tom Lee announced at TOKEN2049 in Singapore on Wednesday that the firm is officially hitting the brakes.
Bitmine has set a hard ceiling on its holdings at 5% of the total circulating supply of Ether. According to Lee, they only need about 100,000 more ETH to hit that goal, which at their current rate, should take roughly six to seven weeks. Once they hit that 5% mark, they are done buying. Real talk: this is a huge pivot for a firm that has been stacking ETH every single week since June 2025.
The numbers game
As of Monday, Bitmine is sitting on 6,016,414 ETH—about 4.9% of the 122.1 million tokens currently in circulation. At today’s prices, that stack is worth approximately $15.5 billion.
Lee noted that the pace of their accumulation was way faster than they originally modeled, saying, “We thought this would take five years. It took us a little over a year.”
High-key risk warning
Before you get FOMO or start panic selling, keep this in mind: Bitmine is currently sitting on about $4.5 billion in unrealized losses because a lot of that stash was bought during the bull market.
While the company still has over $600 million in cash to fund the final stretch of their buying goal, the market is already feeling the vibes are off. Ether took a 5% hit over the last 24 hours, struggling more than Bitcoin during the current market dip. Remember, this isn't financial advice—just the facts on the chain.
Why it matters
Bitmine’s consistent weekly purchases provided a massive, steady floor for ETH demand. With that engine shutting off soon, the market will have to find a new source of buying power to keep the price from sliding further.
