BitMine’s ETH buying spree nears its end as Lee floats selling staking rewards
- Tom Lee told Token2049 that BitMine will stop buying Ethereum once it holds 5% of the supply.
- That milestone is about six to seven weeks away, ending a weekly buying streak that ran since June 2025.
- He also said BitMine could sell staking rewards to stay under that ceiling, reversing his August stance that the firm had no reason to sell and that 5% might go higher.
BitMine Immersion Technologies has bought Ethereum every single week since June 30, 2025, becoming the most dependable source of demand the token has.
BitMine’s Chairman, Tom Lee, has announced that the long-running accumulation of ETH by the company will end once it holds 5% of the supply.
Will BitMine stop buying Ethereum?
BitMine’s Chairman, Tom Lee, announced today at the Token2049 conference in Singapore that once the company holds 5% of circulating ETH, it will stop buying. BitMine recently bought roughly 15,112 ETH, bringing its holdings to 6,016,414 ETH, about 4.9% of Ethereum’s 122.1 million token supply.
Lee has branded the company’s push toward the threshold the “Alchemy of 5%.” He called that level a “hard cap,” and said BitMine is roughly 100,000 ETH short of it. The company will close that gap in about six to seven more weeks of purchases if it maintains the same pace as last week.
“We thought this would take five years,” Lee said. “It took us a little over a year.”
Lee also said the company could sell the ETH it earns through staking to keep its share of supply from drifting past the ceiling.
Back in August, in an interview with Bankless, Lee said BitMine would not need to sell any ETH out of financial necessity, because staking rewards of roughly $300 million a year easily cover the $30 million to $35 million in annual dividends owed on its 9.5% Series A preferred stock.
“Instead of us selling Ethereum, we’re more likely trying to find ways to monetize our Ethereum holdings,” he said at the time.
Lee also said at that time that it “would make a ton of sense” to own more than 5% if enterprises began holding ETH as a long-duration asset, and that the company would revisit the question in 2027.
Why does it make sense for BitMine to stop buying?
Stopping the accumulation of ETH removes any need to keep tapping capital markets, which Lee argued should help the stock track ETH more closely on the way up. The company funded its treasury through a $300 million perpetual preferred offering in June and a multibillion-dollar share buyback.
Even with buying halted, the pile can still grow. Most of it, 5,067,309 ETH, which is about 84% of the treasury worth $13.8 billion, is staked through BitMine’s MAVAN network, throwing off a projected $363 million a year at a 2.63% seven-day yield. Selling those rewards is how Lee now says the company would stay under 5%.
BitMine bought much of its stash when Ethereum was trading at higher bull-market prices. At current prices, the company carries roughly $4.5 billion in unrealized losses.
ETH traded near $2,567 on Wednesday, down by close to 6%. Cryptopolitan reported in September that Lee expects tokenization and AI agents to eventually push Ether past Bitcoin.
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FAQs
How much Ethereum does BitMine hold now?
BitMine holds 6,016,414 ETH, about 4.9% of Ethereum's 122.1 million token supply, after buying roughly 15,112 ETH in the past week, according to its October 5 update.
When will BitMine stop buying ETH?
Lee said the company is about 100,000 ETH short of its 5% cap, which works out to roughly six to seven more weeks of buying at last week's pace.
What changed from Lee's position in August?
In an August Bankless interview, Lee said BitMine had no reason to sell ETH and that 5% might not be a cap, with a review set for 2027; he now calls 5% a hard cap and says the company could sell staking rewards to stay beneath it.
Disclaimer. The information provided is not trading advice. Cryptopolitan.com holds no liability for any investments made based on the information provided on this page. We strongly recommend independent research and/or consultation with a qualified professional before making any investment decisions.
Hannah Collymore
Hannah is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of blog writing and event reporting experience in the crypto space. At Cryptopolitan, Hannah contributes to the news page, reporting and analyzing the latest developments in DeFi, RWA, crypto regulation, AI and frontier tech industries. She graduated from Arcadia university with a degree in Business Administration.
