Ethereum-focused treasury company BitMine received 33,504 ETH worth $112 million from institutional trading desk FalconX, according to on-chain intelligence firm EmberCN.
The purchase extends the firm’s aggressive accumulation strategy as chairman Tom Lee declared Ethereum has likely bottomed and projected the asset could reach $7,000 by early 2026.
The transaction pushes BitMine’s total holdings to approximately 3.86 million ETH, representing 3.2% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, according to StrategicETHReserve data.
Lee, who also serves as Fundstrat Global Advisors’ chief investment officer, told CNBC last month that the bottom is in despite ETH testing the critical $2,870 support level for the first time since July.
Lee believes Ethereum is entering the same explosive growth cycle that propelled Bitcoin from $1,000 to over $100,000 since his firm’s initial 2017 recommendation.
Speaking on Farokh Radio, he noted Bitcoin endured multiple 75% drawdowns during that period before ultimately delivering 100x returns to patient holders.
“We believe ETH is embarking on that same supercycle,” Lee stated, arguing current weakness reflects market doubt rather than fundamental deterioration.
The comparison carries particular weight given his track record of calling major market bottoms, including upgrading the S&P 500 at 720 in February 2009, one month before the generational low at 666.
His conviction stems from Wall Street’s accelerating blockchain adoption, particularly BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s commitment to tokenizing traditional assets on Ethereum.
Lee emphasized that financial institutions require “a neutral and 100% uptime blockchain, and that’s Ethereum” to bring stocks, bonds, and real estate onto distributed ledgers.
He noted that tokenization addresses a market “in the quadrillions,” rather than merely replacing gold’s $20 trillion addressable market, as Bitcoin does.
The latest purchase follows BitMine’s acquisition of nearly $70 million in ETH over three days in early December, even as the firm sits on unrealized losses with an average cost basis of $3,008 per token.
Management claims it’s roughly 62% toward its long-term target of controlling 5% of total Ether supply, an ambitious goal that would require accumulating approximately 2.5 million additional ETH at current levels.
This contrasts sharply with broader market behavior. Bitwise data shows that digital asset treasury companies purchased just 370,000 ETH in November, an 81% decline from August’s peak of 1.97 million ETH.
