Bitmine Buys $32 Million in Ethereum as Tom Lee Nears ‘Done Stacking’

Preface

Bitmine Immersion Technologies continued adding Ethereum to its corporate holdings, purchasing 12,532 ETH over the week covered in its latest update. The acquisition brought the company’s total to 6,028,946 ETH, equivalent to 4.9% of Ethereum’s total supply. Chairman Tom Lee says Bitmine needs approximately 100,000 more ETH to reach its stated 5% ownership goal, a milestone he describes as the point at which the company will be “done stacking.” This article reviews the reported purchase, the company’s wider portfolio and staking activity, and Lee’s outlook for the crypto market. It also distinguishes reported figures from his projections, offering a clear account of Bitmine’s accumulation strategy and the factors Lee believes could shape Ethereum’s next phase.

Lazy bag

Bitmine acquired 12,532 ETH, valued at about $31.9 million using the company’s stated price of $2,544 per token. Its holdings now stand at 6,028,946 ETH, or 4.9% of Ethereum’s 122.1 million token supply. Chairman Tom Lee said the firm is about 100,000 ETH short of its 5% target and expects to stop buying once it reaches that mark. Lee also forecast what he called the biggest crypto bull market ever, citing tokenization, a generational wealth transfer, treasury-firm demand and AI agents using crypto wallets.

Main Body

Bitmine Immersion Technologies bought 12,532 ETH over the past week, according to the company’s latest holdings update. At the $2,544-per-ETH valuation it used, the purchase was worth about $31.9 million. The addition lifted Bitmine’s Ethereum holdings to 6,028,946 ETH, as the firm continued pursuing its stated goal of owning 5% of Ethereum’s supply.

The company’s reported Ethereum position represents 4.9% of the total supply, which Bitmine put at 122.1 million tokens. The firm is therefore close to its target: the update described it as 99% of the way to the goal, while Lee said it needs “about 100,000 more ETH.” Bitmine has given the target a name, the “Alchemy of 5%.” The company’s figures describe its holdings and its own accumulation objective; they do not mean that it controls Ethereum’s network or determines the token’s market price.

The latest purchase followed another sizable acquisition the week before, when Bitmine bought $41 million more ETH. In a press release, Chairman Tom Lee said the company’s “track record of consistent buying of crypto is unmatched by any public company in the world.” That is Lee’s characterization of Bitmine’s activity. The release also presented the purchase as part of a broader corporate treasury strategy centered on accumulating digital assets and related investments.

Bitmine’s update, dated October 12, 2026, put its total cryptocurrency, cash and investment holdings at $16.2 billion. The company reported 6,028,946 ETH, valued at $2,544 per token, and 214 Bitcoin (BTC). Its reported assets also included $612 million in cash and marketable securities, a $180 million stake in Beast Industries and an $85 million stake in Eightco Holdings. These categories help show that the company’s stated total extends beyond Ethereum alone. The $16.2 billion figure reflects the values and classifications reported in the update, rather than a valuation independently established here.

Staking is another part of Bitmine’s Ethereum strategy. The company said it had staked 5,067,309 ETH. Lee stated that this position generates annualized staking revenue of about $336 million. Staking generally involves committing eligible tokens to participate in network validation processes and receiving rewards, although actual returns can depend on several conditions. The company’s annualized revenue estimate is a reported figure, not a guarantee that the same amount will be earned in every future period.

Lee has said Bitmine’s buying will stop once the company reaches its 5% target. In his monthly Chairman’s message the previous week, he said the firm needed “about 100,000 more ETH, and that’s about it.” He reiterated the idea in a video, saying, “Now we’re done stacking while a bull market is starting.” He added that if the company stopped accumulating while ETH rose substantially, “you can imagine that we’ll outperform Ethereum.” This is a statement about Lee’s expectations for Bitmine’s relative performance, not a confirmed outcome. The company’s future results would depend on the price of its assets, its costs, its capital structure and other factors.

Lee’s broader market outlook is notably optimistic. He predicted that the crypto market could experience “the biggest bull market we’ve ever seen.” He pointed to several potential drivers: the tokenization of assets, a transfer of wealth to younger investors, digital asset treasury firms absorbing supply, and AI agents using crypto wallets. These are themes in Lee’s argument about possible future demand. Their impact is uncertain, and the prediction should be understood as his view rather than a settled forecast.

Lee also discussed the relationship between Bitmine shares and Ethereum. He said the company’s shares, then trading around $26, were 90% correlated with ETH. He further projected that ETH reaching $22,000 could put Bitmine shares at $300 to $500. Those numbers are Lee’s stated scenario and projection; they are not a guarantee of future share prices. Correlation also does not establish that one asset’s movement causes the other’s, and the relationship can change over time.

Another security mentioned in the release was BMNP, Bitmine’s 9.5% perpetual preferred stock. According to the company, it was issued at $80 in June and most recently closed at $99.53. Preferred stock differs from common stock in its terms and may have stated distribution features, but its market price can still fluctuate. The figures provide context for Bitmine’s financing instruments alongside its crypto holdings; they do not, by themselves, establish the security’s future return or risk.

Taken together, the update shows a company nearing a clearly stated Ethereum accumulation threshold while maintaining a wider portfolio of crypto, cash and investments. The most concrete details are the reported 12,532 ETH purchase, 6,028,946 ETH total, 4.9% supply share, 5,067,309 ETH staked and $16.2 billion in combined holdings. Lee’s comments add a forward-looking interpretation: Bitmine may stop buying near its target just as he expects a major bull market to begin. Keeping company-reported holdings separate from forecasts is essential when assessing both the strategy and the risks. Ethereum prices, staking revenue, share performance and the broader market can all change, and none of the projections guarantees a particular outcome.

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