BitMine Buys $240M in Ether as Tom Lee Declares ‘Crypto Spring’

BitMine Immersion Technologies disclosed a purchase of 101,745 ETH this week, worth about $240 million at recent prices, marking its third straight weekly buy above 100,000 ETH.

The firm reported prior weekly purchases of 101,901 ETH and 101,627 ETH. BitMine now holds roughly 5.18 million ETH, valued at about $12.2 billion at current trading levels.

The latest week included an over-the-counter purchase of 10,000 ETH directly from the Ethereum Foundation at an average price of $2,292 per coin. The Foundation said proceeds from the sale fund its operations, community grants and other programs. The 10,000-ETH sale was the second consecutive weekly OTC sale to BitMine.

BitMine said it has staked more than 4.36 million ETH, generating annual staking revenue near $297 million. The company recently launched a national validator program called the Made in America Validator Network, or MAVAN.

The company also holds 200 bitcoin, worth about $16 million, and reports roughly $700 million in cash on hand. BitMine began accumulating Ethereum last summer when ETH approached an all-time high near $4,946 and currently carries an estimated unrealized loss of about $6 billion on its Ethereum holdings.

Tom Lee, BitMine’s chairman, described the period as a ‘Crypto Spring’ in a company statement, saying investor sentiment and conviction remain muted even as prices strengthen. He cited potential legislative developments, Wall Street tokenization efforts and growing demand from advanced AI systems for public blockchains as factors for Ethereum’s outlook.

Ether has risen about 15% over the past month and was trading in the low $2,300s at the time of the latest transaction. BitMine’s stock (BMNR) rose more than 4% on the day of the announcement to about $22.91, up nearly 18% over the past month but down more than 15% since the start of the year.

On a prediction market run by the company’s parent, traders assigned roughly a 60% probability that ETH reaches $3,000 rather than falling to $1,500 in the near term. BitMine’s repeated weekly purchases and the Foundation’s consecutive OTC sales occurred over the last three weeks.