Bitmine disclosed on Monday that it acquired 126,971 ETH last week, equivalent to approximately $214 million at current prices. This is the company's largest single-week purchase since 2026, contrasting with previous statements indicating a slowdown in its acquisition pace.

Holdings rose to 5.54 million ETH

The company disclosed that following this purchase, its ETH holdings increased to 5.54 million, worth approximately $9.3 billion at current prices. In addition to crypto assets, Bitmine also holds approximately $247 million in cash, some Bitcoin, and equity stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings.

According to the company, its crypto assets, cash, and investments total approximately $9.9 billion. The previous week, Bitmine bought 26,497 ETH; the week before that, it bought nearly 120,000 ETH.

Approaching the 5% supply target

Bitmine is currently considered one of the largest Ethereum treasury firms. The company has previously stated that it will slow its buying pace as its holdings approach 5% of the circulating supply of Ethereum.

However, the latest disclosure shows that the company already holds approximately 4.59% of the circulating ETH supply and expects to reach its 5% target later this year. Chairman Thomas Lee stated that the company is accelerating its purchases because the current ETH pullback does not reflect improvements in Ethereum's fundamentals.

Proposed to issue preferred shares to continue financing

Bitmine also announced plans to issue a class of dividend-paying preferred stock to raise further funds. This approach is similar to the financing path Strategy has used in recent years around its Bitcoin treasury, namely, using capital market instruments to fund continued acquisitions of digital assets.

However, this type of model has recently attracted investor attention. With Bitcoin prices falling significantly last week, the market has begun discussing the dividend pressure and liquidity arrangements of high-dividend preferred stocks during periods of declining prices. The report mentions that Strategy's latest preferred stock class, STRC, fell to $90 last Friday, approximately 10% below par value.

Most peers have stopped increasing their positions.

Amid a significant weakening of digital asset prices since October of last year, most similar digital asset treasury firms have suspended further purchases, with some turning to reducing their holdings. Bitmine, however, continues to expand its holdings.

According to reports, with ETH falling approximately 65% from its August peak last year, Bitmine currently has a paper loss of about $9.6 billion. Despite this, the company continues to increase its holdings during the price decline, indicating that its long-term Ethereum allocation strategy remains unchanged.

Additional information:The market value of holdings and the amount of purchases mentioned in the article are estimated based on current prices, and the actual average transaction price was not disclosed in the report.