Bitmine Nears 5% Ethereum Goal After Adding Another 9,926 ETH

Tom Lee-backed Bitmine Immersion Technologies is getting surprisingly close to one of the largest crypto treasury targets in the market: owning 5% of Ethereum’s total supply. After another weekly purchase, the company now holds about 5.82 million ETH, putting it roughly 96% of the way toward that goal.

The bigger story, though, is what Bitmine is doing with those coins. Most of its ETH is already staked, turning the massive treasury into a potential source of recurring income rather than simply a long-term price bet.

Why Is Bitmine Buying So Much ETH?

In a recent announcement, the company purchased another 9,926 ETH, worth about $18.9 million, during the past week. Its total Ethereum holdings have now reached 5,815,164 ETH, valued at roughly $11 billion.

That gives the company exposure to about 4.8% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, leaving only around 226,000 ETH before it reaches the 5% target.

Bitmine has continued buying ETH every week since launching its Ethereum treasury strategy, making the accumulation campaign one of the largest institutional crypto-buying programs currently underway.

Lee has also linked the company’s strategy to Ethereum’s role in tokenization and agentic AI. In its latest update, Lee pointed to the ETH/BTC ratio rising above its long-term downtrend, saying this could indicate growing recognition of these blockchain use cases. He also cited easier financial conditions as a possible tailwind for crypto.

That makes Bitmine’s purchases more than a simple price bet. The company is positioning ETH as infrastructure for financial assets and automated blockchain-based transactions.

Most ETH Is Already Staked

On the other side, Bitmine is not simply relying on its Ethereum. Around 5.07 million ETH, or roughly 87% of its holdings, is already staked.

At full scale, the company estimates annual staking rewards could reach about $287 million, while projected annualized staking revenue is around $250 million.

That gives Bitmine a second potential revenue stream alongside any future increase in ETH’s market value.

Could Bitmine’s Buying Signal An ETH Rally?

The accumulation is encouraging, but it does not guarantee a rally. ETH still needs stronger market confirmation.

Michaël van de Poppe sees the chart forming higher highs and higher lows. He is watching $1,870 on the downside and $2,000 on the upside. A break below $1,870 could expose ETH to levels under $1,700, while a clean move above $2,000 could accelerate the recovery toward $2,800. 

Ted Pillows also sees a major sell wall around $1,950–$2,000, with buying interest concentrated near $1,800–$1,850.

So, Bitmine’s continued accumulation can be read as a strong institutional confidence signal, but the chart still needs to confirm it. A sustained break above $2,000 would make the accumulation story far more interesting for ETH bulls. 

Moreover, Bitmine is not the only one buying ETH. Lookonchain reported that whale address 0x8447 bought another 5,000 ETH worth about $9.53 million and staked it. The wallet has now accumulated 10,657 ETH, worth roughly $20.07 million.

This comes as Ethereum’s network activity picks up. Ali Martinez reported that new daily ETH addresses jumped from 121,210 on August 8 to 212,560, pointing to stronger on-chain participation.