Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), the largest Ethereum (ETH) financial firm, increased its buying pace last week, buying 42,197 ether (ETH) as chairman Thomas Lee pointed to improving prospects for US crypto legislation as a catalyst for the asset.
The latest purchase, worth about $74 million based on ether’s current price of about $1,750, lifted the company’s holdings to 5.74 million ETH, according to a Monday update. The holding is now worth about $10 billion and represents 4.8% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, which is closer to the company’s goal of getting 5% of the asset’s supply.
The company also held 206 bitcoin, $527 million in cash and marketable securities, plus shares in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings, bringing its total crypto, cash and investment holdings to $11.1 billion.
The acquisition marks an increase from the previous week’s purchase of 27,084 ETH, although it remains below the six-figure weekly buying pace that BitMine maintained earlier this year.
Bitmine buys as Strategy sells
Bitmine’s continued buying contrasts with a shift in Strategy (MSTR), the largest digital asset treasury and corporate bitcoin holder, which sold about $216 million worth of BTC to raise cash. The sale marked a rare reduction in Strategy’s bitcoin holdings and underscored the funding pressure the company is facing amid the crypto market slump and increased dividend obligations.
