Bitmine (BMNR), the largest Ethereum tax company, bought 101,745 ether (ETH) last week as chairman Thomas Lee said a new “crypto spring” is on the way, even as market sentiment remains subdued.
The purchase lifted the firm’s holdings to over 5.18 million ETH, about 4.29% of the token’s outstanding supply, according to a Monday update.
Bitmine’s total crypto and cash holdings are $13.1 billion. In addition to its ETH position, the firm holds 200 bitcoin $700 million in cash and equity, including investments in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings.
The latest purchase, valued at around $238 million at current ETH prices, has extended a streak of elevated weekly purchases as the firm doubles down on accumulating ETH at scale.
The Crypto Spring is Building as the CLARITY Act Moves Forward
That bet is anchored by the firm’s view that crypto markets are climbing out of the “mini-winter” of recent months, as Lee pointed to improved market conditions and positive signs of US digital asset regulation, known as the CLARITY Act, moving forward.
“The US Senate released the CLARITY Act compromise text, and while it bans stablecoin dividends on reserves, activity-based ‘rewards’ may be offered in an effort to balance the need to protect existing depository institutions (also known traditional banks),” he said in a statement. “This compromise is largely acceptable to us and we hope to see this bill passed in 2026.” Polymarket’s prediction market traders assigned more than 60% chance of passage this year, he added.
“Crypto Spring, in our view, has begun, and like previous cycles, investor sentiment and conviction is muted and bearish even as crypto prices strengthen,” Lee said.
Lee said Ethereum is benefiting from two long-term trends: the shift of financial assets to blockchain rails known as tokenization, and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) tools that he believes will seek neutral, public networks for payments and verification.
He added that ETH is increasingly viewed as both a store of value and a medium of exchange, citing its outperformance relative to stocks since the start of the Iran conflict.
BitMine has also expanded its stakes, pledging over 4.36 million ETH – more than 84% of its holdings – to generate dividends and earn around $297 million in annual revenue. Its MAVAN deployment platform is designed to support both internal operations and external institutional demand. Lee will speak at CoinDesk’s Consensus Miami this week.
