Bitmine Immersion Technologies has made another significant purchase of Ethereum, buying 32,447 ETH last week, valued at roughly $81 million. The acquisition, disclosed on Monday, brings the company's total holdings to 5,847,611 ETH, worth approximately $15 billion as of August 23, according to the company.
This latest purchase comes as Ethereum experiences a notable price surge, with ETH up 31.5% over the past seven days, outperforming Bitcoin's 24% gain in the same period. ETH is currently trading just under $2,500, up almost 3% in the last day, as reported by Decrypt. CoinGape, citing company statements, valued the purchase at approximately $79 million based on an ETH price of $2,440.
Approaching the 5% Threshold
With Ethereum's total supply at approximately 120.7 million tokens, Bitmine now holds about 4.8% of the supply, putting it roughly 187,000 ETH short of its self-imposed goal of owning 5% of all ETH. The company's chairman, Tom Lee, noted that this progress represents 97% of the way toward what the company calls its 'Alchemy of 5%' goal, as reported by CoinGape.
Bitmine's accumulation began last summer, with the company reaching roughly 1% of Ethereum's supply in August and 2% in September, according to Decrypt. Holdings passed 4.66 million ETH in March 2026 and 5.2 million in May, and reached 5.79 million ETH by late July.
The 5% target is Bitmine's own goal, and crossing it would not trigger changes to Ethereum or grant the company control over transactions, upgrades, or governance, Decrypt clarified. Bitmine has not said whether it will stop buying once it reaches the threshold, though Lee said in May that the company would slow its purchases to avoid reaching 5% too quickly.
Market Context and Prediction Shifts
The purchase came as ETH recorded its largest weekly gain in more than a year, rising roughly 31% since August 19, 2026. Lee remarked, 'This is the largest weekly gain since May 2025, prior to that it was July 2021. In those two precedent instances, this weekly gain of >30% signaled a launch point for a larger move in ETH,' as quoted by Decrypt. CoinGape added that Lee highlighted Ethereum's historical performance following such surges, noting rallies of 167% after the July 2021 move and 170% from the May 2025 surge.
Sentiment on prediction markets has also turned more bullish. On Myriad, a prediction market developed by Decrypt's parent company Dastan, traders are now pricing 64% odds that Ethereum reaches $3,000 before dropping to $1,500, according to Decrypt. Less than a week ago, those odds were reversed, with a 74% probability assigned to the bearish outcome.
Lee attributed the positive momentum to several factors, including easing financial conditions, White House support for crypto, and Treasury purchases of long-term bonds, which he said are improving investors' appetite for risk. He also pointed to Wall Street's growing interest in tokenization on blockchain and the rise of agentic AI on blockchain networks as potential benefits for Ethereum's next phase, as reported by CoinGape.
Staking Strategy and Company Finances
Bitmine has staked 5,067,309 ETH, equivalent to 87% of its total holdings, valued at about $12.4 billion at $2,440 per coin, according to CoinGape. The company projects $330 million in annual staking revenue and reported a 2.67% seven-day annualized return from its staking operations.
Beyond Ethereum, Bitmine's total crypto, cash, marketable securities, and 'moonshots' were valued at $14.9 billion as of August 23, comprising 210 BTC, $308 million in cash and marketable securities, a $180 million stake in Beast Industries, and an $89 million stake in Eightco Holdings, as detailed by CoinGape.
The company's stock (BMNR) responded positively to the news, trading at $24.27 on Monday, up $1.44 or 6.31% from its previous close of $22.83, with a day's range of $23.23 to $24.46, according to CoinGape. Bitmine was added to the Russell 1000 Large-cap index on June 26, 2026, and is listed on NYSE under its Series A Preferred Stock.