Crypto · 7 Oct 2026 · 2 min read
Bitmine to stop buying ether at 5% of supply, ending a steady bid for ETH
Bitmine chairman Tom Lee says the largest corporate ether holder will stop buying once it owns 5% of the supply. It's about 100,000 tokens away, so a weekly buyer may soon disappear.
The short answer
Bitmine chairman Tom Lee said Wednesday the company will stop buying ether once it holds 5% of circulating supply. It owns about 6.02 million ETH, roughly 4.9%, so it needs around 100,000 more. Bitmine has bought every week since June 2025, so the end of its purchases removes a steady source of demand for ether.
What’s going on here?
Speaking at the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore on Wednesday, Bitmine chairman Tom Lee said the company will halt ether purchases once its holdings reach 5% of circulating supply. According to the company's Monday update, cited by CoinDesk, Bitmine holds 6,016,414 ETH, about 4.9% of the 122.1 million tokens in circulation, after buying $41 million worth last week. At around $2,580 per token, that stake is worth roughly $15.5 billion. CoinDesk estimated that at last week's pace, reaching the cap would take six to seven weeks. Bitmine also reported $643 million in cash and marketable securities.
What does this mean?
Bitmine is a so-called crypto treasury company: a listed firm that raises money from investors and uses it to buy and hold a cryptocurrency. It says it has bought ether every single week since launching the strategy in June 2025, which has made it one of the world's largest holders. That kind of regular, price-insensitive buying can matter in a market where sentiment swings quickly.
Lee framed the cap as a strength. He told the conference that Bitmine did most of its buying in a bear market and expected the process to take five years, not a little over one. He also argued that once buying stops, Bitmine no longer has to raise new capital to fund purchases, which he said should help the company's shares relative to ether. The company has used stock sales to fund its strategy, including a $300 million perpetual preferred stock offering in June, and has bought back shares under a $4 billion program.
The other side of the story is the price. Much of Bitmine's ether was bought at higher levels, and its holdings carry about $4.5 billion in unrealized losses, according to DropsTab data cited by CoinDesk. Ether fell 5% over 24 hours on Wednesday to its weakest level since September 20, falling roughly twice as much as bitcoin amid broader crypto weakness.
Even after purchases stop, Bitmine's stake may not stay frozen. Lee has said staking rewards, the extra tokens earned by helping secure the Ethereum network, could add to its holdings, and the company could sell staked rewards to stay at 5%.
The bull case
With purchases close to complete and over $640 million in cash on hand, Bitmine has no need to keep issuing shares to buy ether, which could reduce dilution for its shareholders. Staking income gives it a way to earn on its holdings without new capital. A large holder committed to keeping its stake also reduces the risk of forced selling.
The bear case
Bitmine has been a weekly buyer for more than a year, and that demand is about to end. Without it, ether has to rely on other buyers at a time when it is already falling faster than bitcoin. Large unrealized losses also leave the company and its shareholders exposed if prices keep sliding.
Why should I care?
For markets:
Ether's price, Bitmine's shares and other crypto treasury companies could all be affected as the market adjusts to losing a reliable buyer.
The bigger picture:
Crypto prices can be propped up by a few big buyers. When one of them steps back, volatility can rise, a reminder that crypto remains a high-risk part of any portfolio.
Market impact
| Asset (ticker) | Potential direction | Timeframe | Confidence | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ether (ETH/USD) | ↓ bearish | Short term | Low | A steady weekly buyer is set to stop within weeks, removing a source of demand. |
| BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) | ↔ neutral | Long term | Low | Less need to raise capital, but large unrealized ether losses remain. |
Potential impact, not investment advice.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Bitmine stopping its ether purchases?
Chairman Tom Lee said Bitmine set a hard cap of 5% of ether's circulating supply. The company holds about 4.9%, so it needs roughly 100,000 more tokens. Lee argued that stopping removes the need to raise more capital to keep buying.
How much ether does Bitmine own?
According to its Monday update, Bitmine holds 6,016,414 ETH, about 4.9% of the 122.1 million tokens in circulation. At an ether price of about $2,580, CoinDesk valued that stake at around $15.5 billion, with roughly $4.5 billion in unrealized losses.
Will ether fall when Bitmine stops buying?
Nobody can say for sure. Bitmine has bought every week since June 2025, so losing that demand could weigh on prices. But other buyers, staking activity and wider market conditions also drive ether, and CoinDesk noted it is unclear how much the purchases supported the price.
Sources: CoinDesk, Cointelegraph
