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Tom Lee-Backed Bitmine Controls 3.6% of Ethereum Supply After Price Crash

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In a risky but potentially rewarding play, Ethereum treasury company Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) has become the largest corporate holder of ETH, now controlling 3.6% of the total supply after aggressively buying the dip.

The firm, backed by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, purchased an additional 40,613 Ether last week as prices collapsed toward $1,700, bringing Bitmine’s total treasury to over 4.3 million tokens despite sitting on massive unrealized losses from its ETH portfolio, which holds 4.3 million tokens at an average price of $3,826.

Key Takeaways
  • Bitmine added 40,613 ETH during the crash, bringing total holdings to 4.3 million tokens.
  • The firm now controls roughly 3.6% of the total circulating Ethereum supply.
  • Unrealized losses exceed $7.8 billion with an average entry price of $3,826.

Bitmine Ethereum Accumulation Strategy Explained

Led by Chairman Tom Lee, Bitmine pivoted from mining for Bitcoin to an Ethereum-exclusive treasury strategy in mid-2025 with a goal to eventually acquire 5% of the total ETH supply.

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The company sees temporary market downturns as acquisition opportunities rather than setbacks, mirroring high-conviction plays seen in broader crypto selloff contexts.

“Bitmine has been steadily buying Ethereum… given the strengthening fundamentals,” Lee stated in a press release, countering concerns about the firm’s $7.8 billion paper loss.

Lee argues that current prices do not reflect Ethereum’s utility as the “future of finance,” positioning the firm for long-term dominance despite the immediate pain on its balance sheet.

What 3.6% Supply Control Means for Ethereum Markets

Bitmine’s total stack now sits at approximately $8.7 billion based on current prices hovering just above $2,000.

On-chain data indicates the firm bought the latest tranche of 40,613 tokens as ETH plunged from $2,300 to lows of $1,700.

Unlike purely speculative holders, Bitmine leverages its position for yield; nearly 2.9 million of its tokens are currently staked, generating an estimated $202 million in annualized rewards at current prices.

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While investors continue pouring capital into the sector despite the wipeout, Bitmine’s sheer scale allows it to absorb significant liquidity during panic events.

The company plans to launch MAVAN, a proprietary U.S.-based validator network, to potentially stake its entire holding and maximize yield generation.

bitwise Ethereum holdings
At its height, Bitmine’s ETH treasury was worth over $14 billion. Source: DropsTab

How Bitcoin’s Concentration of Ethereum Could Affect ETH Price

The concentration of such a vast amount of Ether in a single corporate entity raises questions about market influence and liquidation risks.

While Lee predicts a V-shaped recovery, the firm remains deeply underwater with an average purchase price of $3,826. This resilience stands in stark contrast to other institutional players; for instance, Trend Research slashed Ether holdings to cover loans during the same market crash.

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If Bitmine sustains its position without forced selling, it removes substantial supply from the market, potentially accelerating price appreciation if demand returns.

The post Tom Lee-Backed Bitmine Controls 3.6% of Ethereum Supply After Price Crash appeared first on Cryptonews.

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Crypto World

What Does it Mean for Bitcoin?

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What Does it Mean for Bitcoin?

Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, revealed on CNBC this week that his firm purchased approximately $17 billion in US Treasury bills at the latest auction. Is a stock market crash coming and what does it mean for Bitcoin (BTC)?

Key takeaways:

  • Berkshire held $373 billion in cash or cash equivalents as of 2025’s close, more than double the levels in 2023.

  • The firm’s rising cash reserves typically precede major stock market crashes, a bad sign for Bitcoin.

Buffett still sees better value in cash than in stocks

Buffett’s message is straightforward: Berkshire does not see the recent equity pullback as a sufficiently attractive buying opportunity.

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For context, the S&P 500 has fallen about 5.75% since reaching a record high in January.

S&P 500 weekly performance chart. Source: TradingView

Buffett said stocks are not “substantially” cheaper after the decline and described the sell-off as “nothing” compared with earlier downturns in which markets fell more than 50%.

That helps explain Berkshire’s latest Treasury-bill purchase. The company ended 2025 with about $373 billion in cash and equivalents, up from a record $334.2 billion a year earlier and more than double its level at the end of 2023.

Buffett, who famously called Bitcoin “rat poison,” typically gets into cash before major stock crashes, historical data shows.

In 1998, for instance, Buffett began trimming Berkshire’s stock exposure and raising cash, pushing the company’s cash and cash-equivalents holdings to $13.1 billion, or about 23% of total assets.

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Berkshire’s cash and cash-equivalents holdings chart. Source: GuruFocus.COM

By mid-2000, that figure had climbed to nearly $15 billion, or roughly 25% of assets, before Berkshire started deploying capital into bargains as the Dot-com bubble burst.

Bitcoin’s positive correlation with stocks may hurt prices

Bitcoin has traded more like a stock than a traditional safe haven for much of the post-2020 period, often moving in the same direction as US equities, especially the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

As of Wednesday, the 20-week rolling correlation coefficient between the two markets was positive at 0.47.

Nasdaq Composite and BTC/USD’s 20-week correlation coefficient chart. Source: TradingView

If Buffett’s risk-off strategy is correct, then Bitcoin should see another crash alongside stocks. Fresh quantum-security concerns, war-driven inflation risks, and nearly 50% US recession odds are putting pressure on the BTC price.

Berkshire’s portfolio decisions have also leaned away from crypto-adjacent finance.

In the first quarter of 2025, the firm fully exited Nu Holdings, a crypto-friendly fintech company, after building its position in 2021 and 2022. It secured about $250 million in profits from these investments.

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Multiple analysts predict BTC’s price to drop to as low as $30,000 in 2026.