Tom Lee Says Bitmine Will Stop Buying Ethereum at 5% of Supply

Preface

Bitmine Immersion Technologies has built one of the largest corporate Ethereum positions through a sustained buying strategy that began in June 2025. Now, chairman Tom Lee says that accumulation is approaching a firm limit: the company plans to stop buying when its holdings reach 5% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. At its latest disclosure, Bitmine held 6,016,414 ETH, equivalent to about 4.9% of supply, leaving roughly 100,000 ETH to reach the target. Lee made the announcement at Token2049 in Singapore, describing the threshold as a “hard cap” intended to optimize shareholder value. The shift matters beyond Bitmine itself: weekly purchases have supplied a consistent source of demand, and ending them could change the balance of buyers in the market. At the same time, the company’s holdings are carrying roughly $4.5 billion in unrealized losses, underlining the risks associated with its accumulation strategy.

Lazy bag

Bitmine has bought Ethereum every week since launching its treasury strategy in June 2025. Chairman Tom Lee says the company will stop buying once it reaches 5% of circulating supply, a level that is about 100,000 ETH away from its latest reported holdings. The firm’s position stands at 6,016,414 ETH, or about 4.9% of supply. Reaching the target would end a persistent source of buying demand, while Bitmine’s accumulated ETH is currently associated with roughly $4.5 billion in unrealized losses. The 5% threshold is both a corporate limit and a potentially important turning point for market demand.

Main Body

Bitmine Immersion Technologies is nearing the end of the Ethereum accumulation campaign that has made it the world’s largest Ethereum treasury company. Chairman Tom Lee said at the Token2049 conference in Singapore that the firm will halt its purchases once its holdings reach 5% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. The threshold, which Lee called a “hard cap,” places a clear limit on a strategy that has made Bitmine a steady buyer for more than a year.

As of its latest disclosure, Bitmine held 6,016,414 ETH, or about 4.9% of supply. Lee said the company needs roughly 100,000 more ETH to reach the 5% mark. Based on the pace of purchases during the previous week, he estimated that it could take about six to seven more weeks of accumulation. That timing is an estimate rather than a guaranteed schedule; the company’s buying pace could change before the target is reached.

Lee described the speed of the buildup as a notable achievement. “We thought this would take five years,” he said on stage. “It took us a little over a year. More importantly, we did this all in the middle of a bear market.” He then stated that the company would stop once it achieved the target. His comments frame the limit not as a temporary pause, but as the planned endpoint of the current buying campaign.

Bitmine began its treasury strategy in June 2025 and has bought Ethereum every week since then. The regular purchases created a recurring source of demand, helping to provide a consistent bid during a volatile period for the token. The company also added roughly $41 million in ETH just last week as it moved closer to what it calls the “Alchemy of 5%.” The strategy’s significance therefore extends beyond the size of Bitmine’s balance sheet: its purchases have formed part of the market’s ongoing demand for Ethereum.

That makes the planned stop relevant to investors watching supply and demand. If Bitmine ceases buying after reaching the cap, one buyer that has absorbed ETH week after week will no longer be adding to its position. This does not establish how Ethereum’s price will respond; other buyers, sellers, and market conditions will continue to matter. But the change removes a persistent source of demand, making the end of Bitmine’s accumulation a development worth monitoring.

The 5% ceiling also reflects the company’s stated approach to managing its share of the network’s circulating supply. Lee said the cap optimizes shareholder value. He has previously indicated that Bitmine could sell Ethereum earned through staking if necessary to keep its share from moving above the limit. That possibility suggests the cap is intended to guide the company’s overall exposure, not only its purchases. Any future sales would depend on how holdings and supply evolve, and no specific sale was announced in the remarks described here.

The company’s large position comes with substantial paper losses. Much of Bitmine’s accumulation took place last year at higher prices during a bull market. Tracking data puts the firm’s unrealized losses at roughly $4.5 billion, with Ethereum trading near $2,570 on Wednesday. These are unrealized losses: they describe the difference between the current market value of the holdings and their estimated acquisition value, rather than a confirmed loss from selling the assets. The figure nonetheless illustrates the financial exposure associated with concentrating a large treasury in a volatile cryptocurrency.

Ethereum was down 5.5% that day, falling more sharply than most major crypto assets and dropping during Asia trading hours around the time of Lee’s remarks. The reported daily move provides context for the announcement, but the available information does not establish that Bitmine’s policy or Lee’s comments caused the decline. Crypto prices can react to a broad range of market forces, and a timing overlap alone does not demonstrate causation.

Bitmine’s position and its stated endpoint create two distinct questions for market observers. The first is whether the firm will reach its target on the projected timetable. Lee’s estimate of six to seven weeks is based on the prior week’s pace, while the remaining distance is roughly 100,000 ETH. The second is what happens to market demand after the company stops. A buyer that has made weekly purchases since June 2025 will no longer contribute the same recurring demand once its cap is reached, although the effect on price cannot be determined from the announcement alone.

For Bitmine, the campaign represents a rapid expansion of its Ethereum treasury and an attempt to set a defined limit on that exposure. For the wider market, it marks the possible conclusion of a prolonged buying program. Lee presented the milestone as a point of pride, emphasizing that the company completed in a little over a year what it thought would take five years. Yet the scale of the unrealized losses also highlights the risks of building a large position during changing market conditions. When the 5% ceiling is reached, Bitmine’s defining buying spree—and the regular demand it generated—is expected to come to a close.

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