Bitmine has snapped up another $52 million worth of Ether, pushing the mining firm closer to its stated goal of holding 5% of the total circulating supply. The purchase, disclosed Tuesday, brings Bitmine to roughly 90% of that target — a bet on Ethereum that founder Tom Lee says the market hasn't fully priced in yet.
The latest buy
The company didn't say exactly how many ETH it acquired, just the dollar value. With Ether trading around recent levels, $52 million would add tens of thousands of tokens to a stash that already ranks among the largest corporate ETH holdings. Bitmine has been stacking ether for months, and this is one of its bigger single purchases.
Tom Lee's take
Bitmine co-founder Tom Lee argued this week that Ethereum's price isn't reflecting its underlying strength. He didn't put a number on it or give a timeline, but the message was clear: he thinks the asset is undervalued relative to its network activity and developer momentum. Lee has been publicly bullish on ETH for a while, and the company keeps putting money where his mouth is.
The 5% milestone
Bitmine's target is 5% of the total circulating supply, which currently sits at 120.6 million ETH. That works out to about 6.03 million tokens. After the $52 million buy, the firm is roughly 90% of the way there. Hitting that number would make Bitmine one of the single biggest known Ethereum whales — not counting exchange wallets or funds.
Large accumulations like this don't go unnoticed. Bitmine's buying pressure has been a quiet support for ETH prices over the past few months, and traders are watching to see if the firm keeps buying after it hits 5%. The company hasn't said whether 5% is a ceiling or just a waypoint. For now, they're still stacking.
