Bit Digital bought 8,568 Ether on May 11 at an average price of $2,334 per token, pushing its total stash to roughly 158,462 ETH and making it the fourth-largest public corporate holder — just ahead of Coinbase Global. The same week, Bitmine Immersion Technologies made its biggest ETH purchase of the year, grabbing 111,942 ETH and cementing its spot as the largest public Ethereum treasury with more than 5 million coins. The buying spree comes as Ether trades around $2,013, down about 30% in 2026 and nearly 60% off its August 2025 peak near $4,946.
Bit Digital's latest buy
The May 11 purchase trimmed the firm's average purchase price, according to CEO Sam Tabar. Bit Digital runs three businesses: Ethereum treasury management, AI and high-performance computing infrastructure, and strategic acquisitions through its WhiteFiber subsidiary, which trades under ticker WYFI. Surpassing Coinbase Global — which holds 151,175 ETH — puts the company in a small club of public firms betting big on Ether despite the prolonged price slide.
Bitmine Immersion goes bigger
Bitmine Immersion Technologies didn't stop at one big purchase. With 111,942 ETH added this year, the company now holds over 5 million Ether, according to CoinGecko data. Chairman Tom Lee said Ethereum stands to benefit from what he called a crypto supercycle driven by tokenization and AI-powered agents. The timing isn't great for a headline number — ETH is off its highs — but the firm is leaning in.
Wall Street vs. the faithful
Standard Chartered's Geoff Kendrick sees a different story. He holds a $4,000 price target for ETH by end of 2026 and $40,000 by 2030. In a note, he said on-chain metrics — transaction activity and total value locked — remain near record levels despite the price drop. Kendrick argued that growth in stablecoin use and tokenization on Ethereum could close the gap between network usage and token price.
Not everyone is convinced. Bankless co-founder David Hoffman sold the last of his Ethereum holdings, saying the investment case for ETH had largely played out. He acknowledged the network may keep expanding through stablecoins, tokenization, and layer-2 activity, but warned that only a limited share of that value flows to ETH holders directly.
What CEOs are saying
Bit Digital's Tabar said the purchase helped lower the average cost basis — a practical move in a down market. Bitmine's Tom Lee framed the bet as part of a bigger structural shift. Neither CEO offered a specific price target. The contrast with Hoffman's move highlights the split among prominent crypto voices: some see a buying opportunity, others an exit.
Ether's next big test comes later this year when the broader market watches whether corporate accumulation continues or stalls. No deadline has been set, but with institutional players publicly adding and a former believer cashing out, the tug-of-war is live.
