Ethereum treasury firm Bitmine just scooped up another 40,000 ETH. That’s $82 million worth of fresh accumulation. The purchase happened today, according to on-chain data from Arkham via Lookonchain.
This move comes just one week after the firm added 71,179 ETH. At this point, Bitmine now holds over 4.7 million ETH. That’s nearly 4% of the entire Ethereum supply. Their goal? The so-called “Alchemy of 5%” acquiring 5% of all ETH in circulation.
Why Ethereum Treasury Firm Bitmine Keeps Buying at a Loss
Here’s the wild part. Bitmine is sitting on a massive unrealized loss. DropsTab data shows the firm’s average purchase price is $3,271 per ETH. With ETH trading far below that, the unrealized loss is almost $7.6 billion.
That loss has weighed on Bitmine’s stock, which is down over 30% year-to-date. Yet, they’re still buying. Why?
Tom Lee, Bitmine’s chairman, explained it bluntly. He said they’re buying even if the low isn’t in yet. Why? Because the US economy can handle oil prices rising to $120 per barrel. Adjusted for CPI inflation, current $106 oil is actually lower than prior peaks. In July 2008, oil hit $144. Inflation since then is up 53%. To match that 2008 high in real terms, oil would need to be $220 today.
Lee also pointed out that Bitcoin and Ethereum haven’t made new lows since February 6, despite the war starting on February 28. That relative strength signals underlying resilience.
Stock and ETH Move in Sync
Interestingly, Bitmine’s stock climbed over 2% this past week, mirroring ETH’s 3% weekly gain. So far, the market is rewarding the conviction.
My Thoughts
This is either visionary or insanity. Accumulating 4.7 million ETH while sitting on a $7.6 billion paper loss takes diamond hands to another level. Tom Lee’s inflation-adjusted oil argument is smart but markets don’t always behave rationally in real time. The fact that ETH and Bitmine stock both climbed this week suggests the market respects the conviction. If the Iran war de-escalates and oil drops, this bet pays off massively. If not, the unrealized loss could grow. Either way, this is the kind of high-conviction alpha that separates long-term winners from panicked sellers. Watch the 5% threshold if they hit it, it could trigger FOMO among other treasuries.
