Bitmine Buys 9,926 ETH, Lifts Ethereum Treasury to 5.8M Tokens

Bitmine Immersion Technologies said it purchased an additional 9,926 ETH in the week ended Aug. 16, taking its total Ethereum holdings to 5,815,164 ETH. At current market prices, the stash is valued at roughly $11 billion and equates to about 4.8% of Ethereum's circulating supply, estimated at around 120.7 million ETH. The company has been accumulating steadily since rolling out its strategy on June 30, 2025. It refers to the program as the "Alchemy of 5%", a stated aim to control 5% of Ethereum's circulating supply. With holdings near 4.8%, Bitmine is closing in on that target. Bitmine said the latest ETH was acquired between $1,893 and $1,904 per token, implying a purchase cost of about $18.8 million to $18.9 million. Beyond holding the asset, the company operates MAVAN (Made in America Validator Network), a staking setup that it says has placed more than 80% of its ETH into staking. Staking locks tokens to help secure the Ethereum network and generates yield, turning treasury holdings into an income-producing position. BMNR shares rose about 4% after the announcement. The NYSE-listed stock has increasingly been treated as an equity proxy for institutional Ethereum exposure, similar to how MicroStrategy became a leveraged Bitcoin play for investors unwilling or unable to hold crypto directly. Chairman Tom Lee also highlighted a technical signal he views as supportive: the ETH/BTC ratio has moved above 0.02994 and broken through a long-term downtrend line. Bitmine counts high-profile backers as well, including ARK Invest's Cathie Wood. If Bitmine reaches 5%, the implications extend beyond the balance sheet. With more than 80% of its tokens staked, a sizable portion of supply is effectively taken out of active circulation, shrinking tradable float and potentially amplifying price swings in either direction. The concentration of validators is another concern. When a single entity stakes a meaningful share of total ETH, questions arise around governance influence and decentralization. Ethereum's proof-of-stake model depends on a broad, distributed validator set to maintain security and censorship resistance. Bitmine's weekly buying pattern since June 2025 indicates a systematic plan with defined internal targets and timelines. Hitting the 5% threshold would make it the largest known Ethereum holder by a wide margin.