BitMine Chairman Tom Lee said the firm may ease off its weekly ETH purchases as its 5.18 million ETH stash, worth roughly $12 billion, brings the company within six weeks of its 5% supply target.
Posted May 8, 2026 at 5:25 am EST.
BitMine Immersion Technologies, the largest publicly traded Ethereum treasury firm, may slow the pace of its ETH accumulation as it approaches its stated goal of acquiring 5% of Ethereum’s total supply. Chairman Tom Lee disclosed the potential shift Thursday during a keynote at Consensus Miami 2026.
The firm now holds 5.18 million ETH, worth roughly $11.9 billion at current prices, equal to 4.29% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. BitMine has been buying more than 100,000 ETH per week, around $230 million worth, and would reach the 5% threshold in approximately six weeks at that pace.
This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.
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“We thought it could take five years, but we’ve done it at a quick pace,” Lee said. “I do think we’re going to slow down our pace of buying. I’m not sure we want to get to 5% too quickly, because there’s other things to be doing in crypto right now.”
The “other things” include a recently announced $4 billion share repurchase authorization and continued expansion of MAVAN, BitMine’s Made in America Validator Network, which currently stakes about $14 billion across ETH, Solana, and Canton. Roughly 85% of BitMine’s ETH is staked, generating approximately $297 million in annualized staking revenue, or close to $1 million per day. Lee also pointed to BitMine’s stakes in YouTuber MrBeast’s Beast Industries and Worldcoin treasury firm Eightco Holdings.
Lee’s tone marks a shift for a company that, as Unchained reported in August, filed to raise an additional $20 billion to fund its Ethereum accumulation. BitMine has remained one of the few large digital asset treasuries still actively buying crypto while many rivals paused accumulation during the market downturn. The shift also follows Strategy’s announcement last week that it may sell some bitcoin to cover dividend obligations.
Shares of BMNR fell 4% on Thursday to about $22.01, leaving the stock roughly 86% below its 52-week high of $161. ETH traded near $2,300, down about 2% on the day. Lee forecasted that BMNR could reach $5,000 if ETH eventually trades at $250,000.
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