Overview
- Bitmine chairman Tom Lee said Wednesday at TOKEN2049 in Singapore that the firm will halt open‑market ETH purchases when its holdings reach 5% of circulating supply.
- The company reported holding about 6,016,414 ETH, roughly 4.9% of supply, and needs roughly 100,000 more tokens to hit the 5% threshold.
- At the disclosed weekly buying pace the remaining gap would take about six to seven weeks to close, though on‑chain trackers suggest Bitmine may already have made additional purchases.
- Bitmine has about $643 million in cash and marketable securities that could fund the remaining buys while its ETH book carries roughly $4.5 billion in unrealized losses and heavy exposure to staking risks.
- The announced stop removed a predictable, steady buyer and coincided with a roughly 5% drop in ETH price on Wednesday; markets and investors will watch how Bitmine handles staking rewards and any future sales once accumulation ends.