Bitmine's 5% Target Looms as Ethereum Purchases Slow

Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NASDAQ: BMNR) is nearing its goal of controlling 5% of all Ethereum in circulation, having reached 4.8%. The firm has been steadily increasing its ETH holdings since May, but has recently started to temper the pace of its accumulation.

Last week, Bitmine added only 7,391 ETH (about $14.2 million) to its portfolio, marking its smallest weekly purchase in over a year and a decrease from the over 100,000 ETH it was buying weekly earlier this year.

This slowdown comes as Tom Lee's firm has stated that it does not want to hit its target too quickly. Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat and head of the treasury strategy, hinted at throttling purchases in May at the Consensus conference in Miami.

Bitmine's focus on buying back its own BMNR stock instead of ETH is also evident. The firm has bought back 19.1 million shares since July, with 3 million shares purchased last week alone for around $50-58 million.