Bitmine Closes in on 5% Ether Target Amid Prolonged Bear Market

Bitmine, an Ethereum treasury company founded by Tom Lee, has been steadily increasing its Ether holdings despite facing significant unrealized losses. The latest purchase of 9,926 ETH brings Bitmine's total holdings to approximately 5.82 million ETH, or about 4.8% of the circulating supply. At a reference price of $1,893, these holdings are valued at around $11 billion, but most of this Ether was acquired at higher prices.

Bitmine is still far from its long-term goal of owning 5% of the total ETH supply, but it's getting closer. The company has been buying Ether every week since launching its treasury strategy in June 2025, and its conviction remains strong despite a prolonged bear market for Ether. This bearish trend has left Bitmine with more than $8.4 billion in unrealized losses on its ETH holdings, which is roughly 43% of the total value.

However, Bitmine's staking operations continue to generate yield, and it has earned protocol rewards for helping secure the Ethereum network. The company is staking over 5 million ETH, worth around $9.6 billion at current prices, with a projected annualized staking reward of approximately $287 million.