Bitmine buys $82 million worth of ETH, closing in on 5% of supply

Bitmine has expanded its crypto treasury with an $82 million purchase of ether, adding to holdings that include 210 bitcoins (BTC), equity stakes valued at $180 million in media company Beast Industries and $89 million in Eightco Holdings, plus $308 million in cash and marketable securities. Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine's board, said the latest acquisition brings the company to 4.8% of Ethereum's total supply of 120.7 million ETH, reaching 97% of its "Alchemy 5%" target to amass 5% of circulating Ethereum. Bitmine has been buying Ethereum on a weekly basis since launching its ETH Treasury Strategy about 14 months ago, on June 30, 2025. Ethereum jumped 30% over the past week to $2,480, its strongest weekly advance since May 2025, when it surged 170%. Lee also pointed to a previous rally in July 2021, when ETH gained 167%. Lee attributed the recent price strength to a policy backdrop he says is supportive of risk assets, citing U.S. authorities and the U.S. Department of the Treasury's move to expand the size of its sovereign debt buyback program. He said these dynamics have lifted investor appetite for high-risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. Bitmine's leadership also expects U.S. regulatory developments to be constructive for the sector, pointing to the GENIUS Act passed last summer to regulate stablecoins and the creation of a cryptocurrency unit within the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Lee compared the shift to the 1971 end of the gold standard for the U.S. dollar, when the dollar's link to gold was severed and fiat currencies with floating exchange rates became the norm—a change he argues helped enable modern financial and payment systems. Bitmine said that as of Aug. 23, 2026, it had staked 5,067,309 ETH worth $12.4 billion. The company launched MAVAN (Made in America Validator Network) in early 2026 as an institutional-focused staking platform and projects annual staking revenue of $330 million. Separately, Strategy—the largest public holder of Bitcoin with 840,447 BTC valued at $70 billion—has not added to its position for seven straight weeks since July. In early August, Strategy sold 1,690 bitcoin for $108.6 million.