Tom Lee’s BitMine Adds $43M in Ethereum; Strategy Pauses BTC Buys

BitMine Immersion Technologies added roughly $43 million of Ethereum to its balance sheet last week and now holds more than 5.7 million ETH, a stake valued at about $9 billion. The company also retains about 206 bitcoin, worth roughly $12.3 million.

The purchase occurred despite recent price declines. Ether fell about 8% over the week and has lost about 22% over the past month, trading near $1,567. Bitcoin declined about 19% over the month and was trading around $59,324.

Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine, cited recent developments affecting Ethereum, including the creation of Ethlabs and a softer stance from the Bank of England on stablecoins. He wrote that the company ‘remains focused on the longer-term horizon,’ pointing to trends such as agentic payments and growing institutional adoption of crypto rails. He added that quarter-end portfolio adjustments have led some investors to reduce holdings in assets that have fallen in recent months.

Ethlabs is a newly formed nonprofit research and development lab financially backed by BitMine and another treasury firm, Sharplink. The lab aims to support technical work and infrastructure for the Ethereum network and its native asset.

Strategy, a firm known for building a bitcoin-heavy treasury, did not increase its bitcoin holdings last week. The company introduced a ‘Digital Credit Capital Framework’ that authorizes sales of up to $1.25 billion in bitcoin to boost cash reserves, fund payouts on products such as Stretch (STRC), or repurchase securities. Strategy cited pressure on its preferred equity product STRC, which recently reached fresh lows, in seeking flexibility to raise liquidity.

Market pressure has affected both tokens and crypto-linked stocks. BitMine’s shares (BMNR) fell nearly 17% over the last five trading days and more than 31% over the month, trading recently at $13.21 and down about 91% from a 52-week high of $161 set after the firm adopted its Ethereum treasury strategy last June.

The approach to accumulating crypto mirrors the treasury-amassing model popularized by Strategy, which began buying bitcoin in 2020. While Strategy paused additions last week and authorized potential sales, BitMine continued adding to its ETH reserves during the decline.