Tom Lee says Bitmine is 100,000 ETH away from ending its buying spree

Bitmine will stop accumulating Ethereum once its holdings reach 5% of the token’s circulating supply, chairman Tom Lee said Wednesday at TOKEN2049 in Singapore.

The announcement sets a ceiling on a buying spree that has made the treasury firm one of the world’s largest ETH holders. Lee said Bitmine needs roughly another 100,000 ETH to reach its target.

“We thought this would take five years,” Lee said. “It took us a little over a year.”

Bitmine reported Monday that it held 6,016,414 ETH after purchasing another $41 million worth of the token last week. That represents roughly 4.9% of the 122.1 million ETH in circulation. At Wednesday’s price of around $2,580, its holdings were worth approximately $15.5 billion.

At last week’s purchase rate, acquiring another 100,000 ETH would take about six to seven weeks. That estimate assumes Bitmine maintains a similar pace and prices remain broadly stable.

The company also reported $643 million in cash and marketable securities. At current prices, another 100,000 ETH would cost roughly $258 million.

Ending accumulation would remove a consistent source of Ethereum demand. Bitmine says it has purchased ETH every week since launching its ether treasury strategy in June 2025.

Despite that accumulation, the company faces substantial paper losses. Much of its ETH was purchased at higher prices during last year’s crypto bull market. DropsTab data put its unrealized losses at approximately $4.5 billion.

Ether fell roughly 5% over the past 24 hours on Wednesday, reaching its weakest price since September 20 amid broader crypto market weakness. Its decline was nearly twice as large as Bitcoin’s. ETH last traded near $2,560, while BTC held slightly above $83,000.