Key Takeaways
- Bitmine added another $130 million in ETH on Dec. 5.
- The firm now holds over 3.7 million ETH, valued at roughly $18 billion.
- Chairman Tom Lee confirmed the bottom is in for Ethereum.
Tom Lee isn’t blinking.
Even after watching more than $4 billion in unrealized losses pile up over the past month, the Bitmine chairman is charging deeper into his Ethereum bet.
As the crypto market shows early signs of recovery, Lee’s conviction appears stronger, not weaker.
In December, Lee’s ETH-focused treasury firm Bitmine scooped up over 90,000 ETH, just as Ethereum pushed back above $3,200 following last month’s steep drawdown.
Bitmine Adds 41,946 ETH, Pushing Total Holdings Above 3.7 Million
Between late November and early December, Bitmine purchased 96,798 ETH in a single week. This is a significant increase from a few weeks ago.
Bitmine’s newest acquisition — valued at roughly $150 million — pushes its holdings to more than 3.7 million ETH, or just over 3% of the entire Ethereum supply.
Although the firm hasn’t issued any public statements, the activity was flagged by the on-chain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence.
The firm’s current stack is valued at approximately $18 billion, well above its average entry of $2,812 per ETH.
With Ethereum recovering strongly this week, Bitmine’s massive paper losses have flipped back into the green.
Founded as BitMine Immersion Technologies, the firm began its Ethereum treasury strategy in mid-2025, kicking things off with a $250 million private placement.
Since then, it has accumulated ETH through every market condition — rallies, corrections, and outright capitulations.
The long-term goal is clear: Bitmine wants to acquire and stake 5% of all circulating ETH, or roughly 6 million coins.
That would cement Tom Lee as the largest corporate ETH whale in existence.
Tom Lee Is Trying to “Pull a Saylor” — And He Isn’t Hiding It
Bitmine’s accumulation strategy mirrors the one Michael Saylor executed with MicroStrategy (now Strategy).
Where Saylor turned his software company into a Bitcoin vault, Lee is building a corporate-scale Ethereum treasury, accumulating through volatility with an eye on long-term dominance.
And like Saylor, Lee hasn’t wavered despite market pressure.
When ETH plunged below $2,700, Bitmine was sitting on more than $4 billion in unrealized losses, weighed down by large buys as high as $3,900. But rather than retreat, the firm accelerated its strategy.
It’s the same approach that helped Saylor turn early losses into billions in profit once the 2025 bull cycle took off.
Strategy’s Bitcoin average entry now sits near $77,000, making the firm one of the most profitable corporate crypto investors in history.
Lee isn’t shy about following that blueprint — and so far, the market is rewarding him for it.
The Bottom Is In?
Speaking at Binance Blockchain Week, Tom Lee said he believes the crypto market has already bottomed, even suggesting that new highs could arrive before the end of the year.
Drawing a parallel to the post-FTX collapse recovery, Lee noted that the market entered price discovery roughly eight weeks after that event.
Using the Oct. 10 crash as a reference point, he said something similar could unfold after Dec. 8.
During his presentation, Lee also revealed that Bitmine brought on Tom DeMark and DeMark Analytics to help guide its aggressive accumulation strategy.
“We wanted to understand how crypto prices worked,” Lee said.
According to Lee, DeMark advised Bitmine to dramatically slow its ETH purchases, which the firm did, cutting from roughly 100,000 ETH per week to about 50,000–60,000.
However, with ETH dropping below $3,000, Bitmine has now accelerated its buying again.
“We believe ETH prices have bottomed… we are bullish on Ethereum,” Lee said.
ETH Reclaims $3,200 as Market Momentum Builds
After dipping below $2,700, ETH has now surged 45% from its November lows, trading above $3,200 as of Dec. 5.
The rally was fueled in part by the Fusaka upgrade on Dec. 3, which significantly improved Ethereum’s scaling capacity.
Key improvements include:
- 8x increase in Layer-2 data throughput.
- 40–60% reduction in transaction fees.
- More efficient rollup performance and network synchronicity.
On-chain activity is accelerating as well:
- Spot volume jumped 40% to $26.58 billion.
- Futures open interest hit $3.02 billion.
- Large ETH holders (1,000–10,000 ETH wallets) resumed accumulation.
Technical momentum is also improving, with the RSI hovering near 62 and a clean MACD bullish crossover.
The market is now treating $3,000 as new support — a crucial psychological level for institutional buyers.
Everything Hinges on a Clean Break Above $3,200
With ETH reclaiming key levels and network fundamentals strengthening, Tom Lee’s strategy no longer looks reckless — it looks early.
Bitmine’s next milestone will be crossing 4 million ETH, and if accumulation continues at its current pace, the firm could reach its 5% supply goal far sooner than expected.
While volatility remains a given, the recent bounce combined with long-term structural upgrades paints a favorable picture for Ethereum heading into 2026.
If ETH can hold above $3,000 and make a decisive push toward $3,500, Bitmine’s long-term thesis may shift from controversial to visionary — much like Saylor’s did.
Prashant Jha is a seasoned crypto journalist based in Delhi, India, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science Engineering. Passionate about the evolving world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, he has been a dedicated voice in the industry since 2018. Prashant’s expertise lies in regulatory reporting, where he unravels complex legal and financial developments with clarity and precision. Before joining CCN in 2024, he honed his craft at Cointelegraph, establishing himself as a trusted name in crypto journalism.
His coverage spans major industry events, including the high-profile collapses of FTX, Three Arrows Capital (3AC), and LUNA, offering readers insightful analyses of their regulatory and market implications. Prashant’s technical background enables him to bridge the gap between intricate blockchain technology and its real-world applications, making his work accessible to novices and experts.
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