BitMine Immersion Technologies spent approximately $230 million last week to purchase 101,627 Ethereum (ETH), marking its largest weekly purchase since December 15, 2025, and the biggest weekly accumulation so far in 2026. This acquisition brings its total holdings to 4.97 million ETH, pushing its ETH holdings close to 5% of Ethereum's circulating supply.
The key data lies in its accelerated accumulation trajectory. BitMine has accelerated its purchasing pace for four consecutive weeks, increasing from an average weekly range of 45,000 to 50,000 ETH to more than double that rate. Its total asset size amounts to $12.9 billion (including cryptocurrencies and cash), with 3.33 million ETH staked, generating an annualized staking yield of approximately $221 million.
Based on the total purchase price of about $230 million, the average purchase price per ETH is approximately $2,263. This move signifies a significant withdrawal of spot liquidity from the market. Although daily spot trading volume for ETH on centralized exchanges typically ranges between $8 billion and $14 billion, such sustained large-scale directional demand compresses effective circulating supply, especially considering that two-thirds of BitMine's holdings are staked and completely removed from the market.
Company Chairman Tom Lee explicitly stated his judgment on the timing: "Over the past four weeks, BitMine has maintained an accelerated ETH purchasing pace because our fundamental assessment is that ETH is in the final stage of a 'mini crypto winter.'" He cited ETH's outperformance of the stock market since the Iran conflict on February 28, as well as demand related to tokenization and AI infrastructure running on Ethereum.
If purchases continue at this pace or accelerate toward the 5 million ETH milestone, market oversupply will further decrease, making resistance levels above the current price more difficult for sellers to defend. Conversely, if accumulation stalls or reverses, order book depth will quickly feel the absence of this stable buying pressure. From a recent price perspective, demand from a single buyer of this scale is structural rather than speculative.