Bitmine's Ethereum Buying Spree Sparks Bull Market Hopes

Bitmine, a digital asset treasury and public company, is aggressively buying up Ethereum, holding 6,001,302 ETH as of September 27, 2026, or 4.9% of the coin's total supply. The company's chairman, Tom Lee, aims to own 5% of the total supply, and has already been buying up Ethereum every week. Lee claims that a new crypto bull market started in late June, and that this rally could push Bitmine's stock back to a premium over its crypto holdings, allowing the company to fund even more Ethereum buying.

According to data from CoinGecko, Bitmine's multiple of net asset value (mNAV) was 1.0 as of October 1, meaning it is not priced at a premium right now. This is a problem for Bitmine, as it cannot sell its shares to raise capital and buy more Ethereum at a premium. However, a bull market could juice prices enough to restart this process.

While some investors are skeptical of Lee's claims, there is some evidence that a bull market is approaching. The total crypto sector market cap has risen from near $2.1 trillion in July to nearly $3 trillion in September, and Ethereum is up 55% over the last three months. Bitcoin is also up 35% over the same period.

It's worth noting that Ethereum is still far from its all-time high, and that a bull market is an arbitrary term. However, Tom Lee will likely continue to buy Ethereum regardless of the market's direction.