Bitmine, the world’s largest Ethereum treasury, has significantly increased its ETH purchases amid the latest cryptocurrency market downturn, executing its largest acquisition of the year.
Bitmine Doubles Down on Ethereum
Bitmine Immersion Technologies announced Monday that it acquired over 126,971 ETH, valued at approximately $214 million, during last week’s price dip. This marks the treasury’s most substantial purchase of 2026 to date. Following this acquisition, Bitmine’s combined crypto and cash holdings now stand at $9.6 billion at current valuations. The treasury’s assets include 5,543,872 ETH at $1,630 per ETH, 204 Bitcoin (BTC), a $180 million stake in Beast Industries, an $88 million investment in Eightco Holdings as part of its “Moonshots” initiative, and $247 million in cash.
In a statement, Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee explained that the firm viewed the recent price decline, which saw Ethereum reach a one-year low of $1,505 on Sunday, as a strategic buying opportunity. He asserted that Ethereum’s underlying fundamentals are strengthening. “We increased our buying as we believe this pullback in ETH prices does not reflect the strengthening of Ethereum fundamentals,” Lee stated. “This is not surprising given we are in the early stages of crypto spring.”
Lee characterized the broader crypto market sell-off as a “superficial take,” driven more by short-term panic than by genuine weakness. He also contended that the recent Zcash Orchard incident bolsters Ethereum’s use case. “AI systems are going to find flaws in centralized financial services rails and weak decentralized protocols. We believe this actually strengthens the use case and product market fit for hardened and reliable decentralized blockchains like Ethereum,” he added. Consequently, the treasury firm believes that “ETH prices should not be coming under pressure.”
Following the latest purchase, Bitmine’s ETH holdings now represent 4.59% of the altcoin’s total supply. Lee anticipates the company will achieve its goal of holding 5% of the supply “sometime in 2026.”
ETH Eyes Key Technical Level
Despite Bitmine’s sustained commitment to Ethereum, the leading altcoin has faced challenges over the past week, retracing approximately 15% and falling below its February lows for the first time in four months. Market observer Ash Crypto noted that ETH is exhibiting a pattern similar to one observed during the previous bear market. “Back in June 2022, ETH broke through every support level and crashed to $880. Everyone gave up on it. That turned out to be the exact bottom of the whole bear market,” he wrote.
This time, Ethereum has declined 68% from its 2025 peak and has broken through multiple support levels after losing the 200-week Moving Average (MA), which is currently around $2,471. The next critical support level to monitor is $1,500, which could determine whether ETH follows its previous trajectory.
If ETH maintains the $1,500 level, the market watcher believes the current setup could mirror the 2022 scenario, potentially leading to a fivefold increase in price over the subsequent 18 months. Conversely, if Ethereum falls below $1,500 on a weekly timeframe, he suggested the price could drop to the $1,000 area, where the next significant support zone is located.
As of this report, ETH is trading at $1,687, showing a 4.8% increase in the daily timeframe.
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