Bitmine ETH Holdings Hit 5.9M After $134M Weekly Buy

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Chairman Tom Lee confirmed the buy on Sunday. According to the company, the stack is worth about $14.8 billion. Moreover, it equals 4.9% of all Ethereum in circulation.

Inside the Biggest Bitmine ETH Buy Since June

The week ending August 31 broke a quiet summer stretch. Before this, Bitmine bought just 9,926 ETH on August 17. Then it added 32,447 ETH the following week. Now the pace has clearly re-accelerated.

Lee framed the number plainly. “Over the past week, we acquired 53,501 ETH,” he said in the company’s August 31 release. In addition, he noted the firm has bought ETH for 65 straight weeks.

That streak dates to June 30, 2025, when the ETH treasury strategy began. Since then, Bitmine has never skipped a week. According to Decrypt, the latest lot was worth roughly $131 million at mid-week prices.

The buy also dwarfs the summer lull. For most of July, weekly purchases fell to 7,000 or 10,000 ETH. By contrast, the week ending June 8 saw 126,971 ETH. So August marks a clear return to heavier buying.

Why Arkham and Bitmine Cite Different ETH Totals

Arkham Intelligence flagged the purchase in real time. On Sunday, the on-chain tracker posted that Tom Lee “bought $134M of ETH.” However, its total differed from the company’s figure.

Arkham put the holdings at $14.35 billion, or 4.89% of supply. Meanwhile, Bitmine marked the same tokens at $14.8 billion. The gap comes down to price, not a data dispute.

Bitmine valued its ETH at $2,511, its Coinbase reference from August 30. Arkham instead used a spot price near $2,432. So the token count matches, even though the dollar totals do not.

Both sources agree on the milestone. According to Arkham, Bitmine needs about $324.5 million more to reach 5%. At the company’s higher mark, the shortfall runs closer to $336 million.

The Road to the ‘Alchemy of 5%’

Bitmine calls its target the “Alchemy of 5%.” In short, the firm wants to own 5% of all Ethereum. That works out to 6,035,000 ETH against a supply of 120.7 million.

At 5,901,112 ETH, Bitmine sits about 133,888 tokens short. On August 31, Lee said the company was “just 100k away.” Therefore, one or two more big weeks could close the gap.

Still, Lee has hedged this milestone before. Back in May, he suggested slowing down to avoid hitting 5% too quickly. Yet the last two weeks show the opposite.

The company frames the goal as a treasury milestone, not a power grab. To be clear, 5% of supply grants no control over Ethereum’s network. Instead, it is a branding target and a marketing hook.

Staking Keeps Most of the Bitmine ETH Holdings Locked

Most of the stack does not sit idle. In fact, Bitmine has staked 5,067,309 ETH, or about 86% of its holdings. The firm marks that position at $12.7 billion.

Staking also drives income. According to the company, the ETH earns a 2.63% annualized yield right now. As a result, projected staking revenue runs near $335 million a year.

The staked ETH flows through MAVAN, the firm’s validator network. Because so much is locked, Arkham’s public page shows only about 377,000 liquid ETH. The rest sits in staking and custody.

Critics Warn About Dilution and Cost Basis

Not everyone cheers the buying. Bitmine funds its ETH through steady stock sales, and that dilutes existing shareholders. Over nine months, the firm sold about 340.7 million shares to raise roughly $11.87 billion.

The cost basis also stings. According to DefiLlama, Bitmine’s average purchase price sits near $3,368. Yet ETH trades around $2,440 today, which leaves a multi-billion-dollar paper loss.

Analysts at GTG Research raise a second concern. They argue Lee’s pay tracks share of ETH supply, not ETH per share. So buying more tokens can reward him while thinning each share’s backing.

Supporters see it differently. For them, Bitmine is the “ETH MicroStrategy,” a levered bet on Ethereum with staking yield on top. This is not financial advice, and the stock swings hard on ETH’s price.

The market reaction stayed mixed. BMNR closed at $25.32 on August 31, up more than 6% on the day. Then it slipped toward $24 on Monday as ETH cooled. Over the past year, the stock has dropped about 42%.

What Comes Next for Bitmine ETH Holdings

The next few weeks will test Lee’s intent. If the pace holds, Bitmine could cross 5% within a month. Alternatively, the firm may pause once it nears the line.

The funding source matters too. The remaining buy could come from $541 million in cash, a fresh stock sale, or preferred shares. For now, Lee keeps signaling more ETH ahead.

Watch three numbers from here. First, the weekly buy size. Second, the gap to 6,035,000 ETH. Third, whether BMNR trades above or below its net asset value. Together, they show whether the Bitmine ETH holdings story stays a supply story or turns into a dilution story.