cryptopolitan.com
BitMine Immersion Technologies is facing increasing pressure as plunging ether prices have led to heavy unrealized losses. The Ethereum Treasury, which is chaired by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, sits at the center of one of the largest single-asset corporate bets in crypto history as market conditions continue to weaken.
Ether hit a local low of around $2,048 on February 5, putting BitMine’s holdings deep underwater. The company holds about 4.28 million $ETH, which was accumulated as part of an aggressive treasury strategy adopted last summer. As a result, unrealized losses now exceed $7 billion, a drawdown of over 45% on its position.
Ether slump tests the Ethereum treasury strategy
BitMine turned away from Bitcoin mining in mid-2025 and rebranded itself as an Ethereum-focused treasury company. Since then, it has been steadily accumulating $ETH at an average estimated price of $3,800 to $3,900 per token. However, market conditions have changed drastically.
Ether is currently trading more than 50% off its August 2025 all-time high price of $4,946. As a result, BitMine’s once-valued portfolio, estimated at $8.4 billion, has lost a large chunk of its paper value. According to market data, the company’s $ETH holdings are now worth less than $9 billion, compared with an estimated $15 billion acquisition cost.
In addition, broader weakness in the crypto space has increased the pressure. The global digital asset market recently dipped to around $2.4 trillion, marking one of the largest daily declines in years. Ethereum has followed suit, struggling to hold the psychologically important $2,000 level with ongoing selling pressure.
Onchain data highlights the scale of unrealized losses
On-chain analytics companies have focused on BitMine’s scale of exposure. Data cited by Lookonchain shows the company as the largest public holder of Ethereum, with unrealized losses of more than $7 billion.
CoinGecko estimates that BitMine holds 4,285,126 $ETH, with a current market value of around $8.93 billion. Based on an average purchase price of around $4,001 per coin, the company’s treasury has fallen by over 40%. As $ETH trades near $2,088 at press time, daily losses have accelerated, with the token down about 8% over 24 hours.
Still, Ethereum’s performance over time sends mixed signals. While it has been volatile in recent weeks, $ETH has registered gains of about 29% per week and 35% on a monthly basis.
Tom Lee defends the drawdown
Despite growing criticism, BitMine’s leadership has continued to invest in its strategy. Tom Lee has publicly defended the company’s approach, noting that the reduction in size is a sign of the market structure, rather than operational errors. In recent posts on X, he discussed the paper losses as a predictable result of crypto downturns.
These tweets miss the point of an ethereum treasury:
– BitMine is designed to track the price of $ETH
– outperform over the cycle (think up $ETH)
– crypto is in a downturn, so naturally $ETH is down$BMNR will see “unrealized” losses on our holdings of $ETH during these times:
-… https://t.co/VpoNjAnJdC— Thomas (Tom) Lee (not drummer) FSInsight.com (@fundstrat) February 3, 2026
Lee likened the exposure of BitMine to $ETH to an index-like product, and asked why passive investment vehicles are not subjected to the same scrutiny when markets are collapsing. He has also cited post-October deleveraging and the influx of funds into precious metals as other factors contributing to Ethereum’s weakness. Importantly, BitMine has continued to add its holdings. The company recently acquired more than 41,000 $ETH, the latest lot of about 41,788 tokens.