Bitmine adds 12,535 ETH, lifting holdings to 6.04 million as it nears 5% goal
In brief
- Bitmine added 12,535 ETH, worth about $30 million, extending its weekly buying streak.
- Holdings total 6,041,481 ETH, about 4.9% of Ethereum's 122.1 million supply.
- Bitmine is 99% of the way to owning 5% of the network, by its own count.
- Chairman Tom Lee has said buying stops once Bitmine hits the 5% threshold.
Closing in on 5%
Bitmine's stash now represents 4.9% of Ethereum's 122.1 million token supply. That's the number to watch. The company launched its treasury strategy on June 30, 2025, and it hasn't skipped a week of buying since, per Decrypt's report.
That run is close to ending.
Chairman Tom Lee has said the company is nearly finished buying and will stop once it reaches the 5% threshold. Decrypt also reported that the position is underwater on paper because Bitmine accumulated much of its ETH last year at higher prices (the report doesn't cite a cost-basis figure).
Lee's read on the selloff
Lee blamed the recent weakness on a broad contraction in risk appetite. He cited AI funding and model safety concerns, U.S.-Iran tensions, midterm-election jitters and rising global bond yields. He also argued that selloffs in AI and semiconductor stocks in Korea and Taiwan, where crypto is widely held, spilled over into digital assets.
His conclusion? Lee framed the dip as a historically attractive risk-reward entry point when fundamentals remain strong. That's his opinion, and it isn't a statement of market fact.
Staking, cash and side bets
According to Bitmine, 5,067,309 ETH (about 84% of its holdings) is staked through its MAVAN platform, with projected annualized revenue of roughly $309 million. The company put its total holdings, including cash and other tokens, at $15.1 billion as of Oct. 18. That figure includes 215 Bitcoin, $582 million in cash and marketable securities, a $180 million stake in Beast Industries and a $74 million position in Eightco Holdings, which Bitmine describes as a public proxy for indirect OpenAI exposure.
Bitmine is the world's largest Ethereum treasury and the second-largest crypto treasury overall. Only Michael Saylor's Strategy is bigger, with about 848,250 BTC; Strategy recently added another $22 million in Bitcoin while buying back preferred stock.
Decrypt disclosed that Tom Lee is one of several investors in Dastan, its parent company.
Frequently asked questions
How close is Bitmine to its goal of owning 5% of Ethereum?
Bitmine said its holdings totaled 6,041,481 ETH, about 4.9% of Ethereum's 122.1 million token supply. By its own count, that puts the company 99% of the way to its 5% goal.
Will Bitmine keep buying Ethereum after it reaches 5%?
Chairman Tom Lee has said the company is nearly finished buying and will stop once it reaches the 5% threshold. Bitmine has bought ETH every week since launching its treasury strategy on June 30, 2025.
