Tom Lee's Bitmine extends buying streak with $138 million ETH purchase, betting on crypto slump ending

Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) said Monday it bought 65,341 ether ($ETH) last week, extending a recent surge in purchases as the firm continues to lean into the market downturn.

The latest acquisition, worth roughly $138 million at current $ETH prices, lifted the firm's total holdings above 4.66 million tokens, cornering 3.86% of $ETH's circulating supply, according to a Monday update.

Bitmine has now increased its pace of buying for three consecutive weeks, stepping up from a prior average of around 50,000 tokens per week. Meanwhile, the firm also increased its cash holdings to $1.1 billion.

Chairman Thomas "Tom" Lee said the increase in buying pace reflects the firm’s view that crypto markets are nearing the end of a prolonged slump.

"Our base case is $ETH is in the final stages of the 'mini-crypto winter,' he said in a statement.

The firm is still sitting on an estimated $7 billion unrealized loss on its ether purchases, DropsTab data shows, as crypto prices tumbled over the past months.