Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) has sharply slowed its ether (ETH) purchase pace as Chairman Tom Lee signaled, following months of aggressive buying that made it the world’s largest Ethereum treasury company.
The firm bought 26,659 ether last week, worth about $63 million based on ether’s current price. That’s roughly a quarter of the average weekly haul it purchased over the past weeks.
The purchase lifted Bitmine’s holdings to over 5.2 million ETH, or around 4.31% of ether’s circulating supply, according to a Monday company update.
The update follows comments Lee made last week at Consensus 2026 in Miami, where he said BitMine may begin moderating its buying pace after one of the fastest accumulation runs in the crypto market.
The slowdown follows comments Tom Lee made last week at Consensus 2026 in Miami, where he said Bitmine was considering easing purchases as it approached its long-term goal of acquiring 5% of Ethereum’s supply.
“We have decided to slow down our pace of weekly accumulation from over 100,000 [ETH] per week,” Lee said in Monday’s statement. “Our previous pace of buys would have us reach 5% by mid-July.”
Bitmine remains one of the few major digital asset treasury firms still consistently buying crypto during the recent market downturn. Since the start of 2026, the company has acquired more than 1 million ETH, according to Lee.
The company’s total crypto and cash holdings stood at $13.4 billion. In addition to ETH, BitMine holds 201 bitcoin, $775 million in cash and equity stakes including investments in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings.
Lee reiterated his view that “crypto spring” has begun, pointing to ether’s recent recovery and improving sentiment in software and growth stocks.
“If ETH closes above $2,100 at the end of May, this would be the third consecutive monthly gain — this has never been seen in a crypto bear market,” Lee said.
BitMine has also expanded its staking operations. The firm now has over 4.7 million ETH staked — more than 90% of its holdings — representing about $11.1 billion worth of assets generating staking rewards. Its MAVAN staking platform, launched earlier this year, is aimed at institutional clients as well as Bitmine’s own treasury operations.
Source: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/05/11/tom-lee-s-bitmine-slows-down-ether-purchases-after-already-buying-1-million-tokens-this-year
