Four more weeks at this pace takes Bitmine to 5% of Ethereum's supply
Bitmine holds 5,983,940 ETH, 4.9% of supply, and the 121,060 tokens still missing cost about $325m at its own reference price, a bill its cash balance covers twice over. Tom Lee expects institutions in the fourth quarter.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- Bitmine added 27,562 ETH in the week ending September 20, 2026, taking holdings to 5,983,940 ETH, about $16.1bn at its own $2,688 reference price and 4.9% of a 122.1 million token supply.
- The company has bought Ethereum every week since launching the treasury on June 30, 2025, mostly through over-the-counter desks including Kraken and FalconX.
- Chairman Tom Lee said a crypto bull market has been underway since late June, driven by a rotation out of AI stocks, strengthening tokenization fundamentals and the end of the four-year cycle.
- About 85% of the stack, 5,067,309 ETH, is staked through Bitmine's MAVAN platform for projected annualized revenue of roughly $357 million.
- Total holdings of $17.1bn include 212 bitcoin, $714m of cash and marketable securities, a $180m stake in Beast Industries and a $105m position in Eightco Holdings.
Why it matters
- What it limits constraint With 121,060 ETH left to reach the target, the announced demand still ahead from the largest corporate buyer of ETH is a small fraction of what it has already absorbed.
- Who has to decide decision Finishing the 5% target does not require new equity, so the live question at Bitmine is what the leftover cash and the staking revenue are used for once the target is crossed.
- Who's exposed exposure Staking pays 2.2% on the ETH position, which leaves shareholder returns dependent on where ETH is marked rather than on operating income.
- What doesn't add up contradiction Decrypt priced the week's buy at about $74m off a $2,688 reference while Cryptobriefing put it at $75m and roughly $2,727 per ETH, so the cost basis sat about 1.5% above the mark used to value the stack.
Next story · Invest · 4d ago
At this week's pace Bitmine is six to eight weeks from holding 5% of ether supply, where it says buying stopsConfirmed5 publishers
Five percent of a 122.1 million token supply is 6,105,000 ETH, and Bitmine holds 5,983,940 of them [2][3], so 121,060 are left to buy [28]. At the $2,688 reference price the company used, that remainder costs about $325m [29]. Cash and marketable securities cover it about 2.2 times over [30].
At last week's pace of 27,562 ETH, the gap closes in roughly four and a half weeks [24]. Measured against Bitmine's own record, that pace is slow: accumulating 5,983,940 ETH over the roughly 64 weeks since June 30, 2025 averages about 93,700 a week [25], so last week's buy came to 29% of the average [26].
The demand still to come from the world's largest corporate ETH holder [11] is therefore about $325m, set against a position already marked at $16.1bn [29][2].
The income is small next to the position. Staking works out to about $70 per staked ETH a year, or 2.6% at the $2,688 reference price [13], and 2.2% measured against the whole $16.1bn [14]. The bitcoin on the same balance sheet was worth roughly $18m at the weekend's $85,000 price, about 0.1% of the $17.1bn total [17].
Lee's fourth-quarter case rests on institutions being underweight. Decrypt reported that he called Ethereum the best-performing macro asset of the quarter, ahead of the S&P 500 by 6,519 basis points, and framed that as a "prelude" to a stronger move as those institutions add exposure [18]. Converted, 6,519 basis points is 65.19 percentage points of outperformance in three months [31]. Cryptobriefing reported that he expects the institutional surge in the closing months of 2026, as US regulatory frameworks take shape [32]. Decrypt disclosed that Lee is one of several investors in Dastan, its parent company [20].
If the institutional bid arrives, the gain comes from the mark on 4.9% of supply and the final $325m of buying barely moves price [3][29]. If it does not, Bitmine is a $16.1bn position earning 2.2% a year [2][14]. A third possibility is that the board raises the target above 5% and funds further buying out of staking revenue instead of the balance sheet. That would keep a weekly bid in the market without issuing stock.
Neither publisher reported Bitmine's share count or market value, so the premium or discount to net asset value cannot be computed from these disclosures [19]. The staking disclosure alone puts 4.15% of all ETH inside one company's programme [15].
What to watch
- Bitmine's first weekly disclosure after it crosses 6,105,000 ETH: the size, the funding source, and whether the streak continues.
- Lee's scheduled keynote at Korea Blockchain Week on September 30 for any revision to the 5% target.
- Whether Strategy keeps buying at the pace of its recent $76m bitcoin purchase as prices climb.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption45
- Hype gap+22
- Incentives80
- Confidence65
Perspective Coverage
3 publishers- Builder
- Builder 7%
- Operator
- Operator 17%
- Investor
- Investor 76%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
BitMine Immersion Technologies purchased 27,562 ETH in the week ending September 20, 2026.
- [2]
Bitmine said its holdings total 5,983,940 ETH, worth about $16.1 billion at a reference price of $2,688 per coin.
- [3]
The holding represents 4.9% of Ethereum's total supply of 122.1 million tokens.
- [4]
Bitmine says it is 98% of the way to its stated goal of controlling 5% of the network, a target it calls the "Alchemy of 5%".
- [5]
Decrypt valued the week's 27,562 ETH purchase at roughly $74 million.
- [6]
Cryptobriefing put the purchase at $75 million and calculated the purchase price at roughly $2,727 per ETH.
- [7]
BitMine launched its Ethereum treasury strategy on June 30, 2025, and has executed weekly purchases since, primarily through over-the-counter channels such as Kraken and FalconX.
- [8]
Counting cash, other tokens and what it calls "moonshot" investments, Bitmine's total holdings reached $17.1 billion as of Saturday.
- [9]
Bitmine's total holdings include 212 Bitcoin, $714 million in cash and marketable securities, a $180 million stake in Beast Industries and a $105 million position in Eightco Holdings.
- [10]
Bitmine has 5,067,309 ETH, about 85% of its holdings, staked through its MAVAN platform for projected annualized revenue of roughly $357 million.
- [11]
Bitmine remains the world's largest Ethereum treasury and the second-largest crypto treasury overall, trailing only Michael Saylor's Strategy.
- [12]
BitMine is NYSE-listed under the ticker BMNR.
- [13]
Projected staking revenue of $357 million on 5,067,309 staked ETH is about $70 per ETH a year, or 2.6% of the $2,688 reference price.
- [14]
Projected staking revenue of $357 million is 2.2% of the $16.1 billion ETH position.
- [15]
The 5,067,309 ETH Bitmine has staked is 4.15% of Ethereum's 122.1 million token supply.
- [16]
Lee said he believes a crypto bull market has been underway since late June, driven by a rotation out of AI stocks and back into crypto, strengthening fundamentals around tokenization, and the end of the four-year cycle.
- [17]
Bitmine's 212 bitcoin were worth about $18 million at the weekend's $85,000 price, roughly 0.1% of its $17.1 billion total holdings.
- [18]
Lee argued Ethereum has been the best-performing macro asset this quarter, outpacing the S&P 500 by 6,519 basis points, and framed that as a "prelude" to a stronger move in the fourth quarter as underweight institutions add exposure.
- [19]
Neither the Decrypt nor the Cryptobriefing report includes Bitmine's share count or market capitalisation, so a premium or discount to net asset value cannot be computed from them.
- [20]
Decrypt disclosed that Tom Lee is one of several investors in Dastan, Decrypt's parent company.
- [21]
Bitcoin topped $85,000 over the weekend as more than $648 million in shorts were liquidated.
- [22]
Strategy recently pushed its Bitcoin pile back toward a June record with a $76 million purchase.
- [23]
Lee is set to deliver the keynote at Korea Blockchain Week on September 30.
- [24]
At last week's rate of 27,562 ETH, the 121,060 ETH gap closes in about 4.4 weeks.
- [25]
Accumulating 5,983,940 ETH over the roughly 64 weeks between June 30, 2025 and the week ending September 20, 2026 averages about 93,700 ETH a week.
- [26]
Last week's 27,562 ETH purchase was about 29% of Bitmine's average weekly accumulation since launch.
- [27]
The roughly $2,727 per ETH purchase price is about 1.5% above the $2,688 reference price Bitmine used to value the holding.
- [28]
5% of Ethereum's 122.1 million token supply is 6,105,000 ETH, so Bitmine is 121,060 ETH short of its target.
- [29]
The remaining 121,060 ETH costs about $325 million at Bitmine's own $2,688 reference price.
- [30]
Bitmine's $714 million of cash and marketable securities covers the roughly $325 million remaining purchase about 2.2 times over.
- [31]
6,519 basis points of claimed outperformance is 65.19 percentage points.
- [32]
Lee's forecast calls for a surge in institutional investment during the closing months of 2026, as regulatory frameworks in the US continue to take shape.
Sources
3 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- cryptobriefing.comBitMine acquires 27,562 Ethereum for $75M, pushing total holdings to nearly 5% of circulating supply
1 article · September 21, 2026
- cryptopolitan.comTom Lee's Bitmine reaches 4.9% of ETH target as crypto and cash assets reach $17.1B
1 article · September 21, 2026
- decrypt.coTom Lee's Bitmine Adds $74M in Ethereum, Declares a Crypto Bull Market 'Underway'
1 article · September 21, 2026