Ethereum treasury firm BitMine Immersion Technologies acquired 96,798 ether last week, pushing its total holdings to 3.73 million tokens worth approximately $10.5 billion as the company accelerates accumulation ahead of a major network upgrade scheduled for December 3.
The purchase, disclosed Monday by the Fundstrat co-founder Thomas Lee-backed company, represents a 39% increase from the previous week's buying pace and stands in sharp contrast to the broader digital asset treasury sector, where most firms have paused purchases or trimmed holdings amid falling cryptocurrency prices. BitMine now controls more than 3% of Ethereum's circulating supply, positioning itself two-thirds of the way toward its stated goal of owning 5% of all ETH.
Despite the expanded balance sheet - which includes $882 million in cash, 192 Bitcoin, and a $36 million stake in Eightco Holdings - BitMine's stock reflected mounting market stress.
Shares fell more than 8% on Monday as Ethereum dropped 8% to around $2,800, illustrating the volatility that has characterized crypto-correlated equities throughout the year.
What Happened
BitMine's latest acquisition brings its total crypto and cash holdings to $12.1 billion as of November 30, cementing its position as the world's largest Ethereum treasury and the second-largest cryptocurrency treasury behind MicroStrategy, which holds 649,870 Bitcoin valued at approximately $59 billion.
Chairman Thomas "Tom" Lee cited Ethereum's upcoming Fusaka upgrade and anticipated Federal Reserve policy shifts as catalysts for the accelerated buying strategy. The Fusaka upgrade - a combination of the Fulu and Osaka network improvements - is designed to enhance scalability, security, and usability through the introduction of PeerDAS technology, which will allow nodes to verify data availability through sampling rather than downloading entire transaction blocks.
"As we look ahead to December, the Fusaka upgrade is scheduled for activation December 3rd and delivers an array of improvements in scalability, enhanced security, and usability," Lee stated in Monday's announcement. He also pointed to macroeconomic factors, noting that the Federal Reserve is ending quantitative tightening and is expected to cut interest rates again on December 10.
BitMine has emerged as one of the most actively traded stocks in the United States, with average daily trading volume of $1.7 billion over the past five days, ranking 39th among all U.S.-listed stocks. The company's institutional backers include ARK Invest's Cathie Wood, Founders Fund, Bill Miller III, Pantera, Kraken, DCG, and Galaxy Digital.
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Why It Matters
BitMine's contrarian accumulation strategy highlights a fundamental divide emerging in the digital asset treasury space as market conditions deteriorate. While many publicly traded crypto treasury companies have paused acquisitions to narrow the gap between share prices and underlying net asset value - a spread that has widened uncomfortably in recent weeks - BitMine continues to bet aggressively on Ethereum's long-term trajectory.
The timing of the purchases ahead of the Fusaka upgrade reflects institutional confidence in Ethereum's technical roadmap, particularly as the network prepares to significantly expand its capacity for Layer 2 transactions. The upgrade will increase Ethereum's block gas limit to 60 million units and introduce infrastructure improvements that could reduce transaction costs and boost throughput for decentralized applications.
However, the 8% decline in BitMine's stock price underscores the risks inherent in maintaining such a concentrated position during periods of cryptocurrency market volatility. The company's equity now functions as a highly leveraged wrapper on Ethereum's price movements, with every meaningful shift in ETH having an outsized impact on investor sentiment and net asset value.
The company is also developing the Made in America Validator Network, a staking infrastructure solution scheduled for deployment in early 2026 that could transform BitMine from a passive holder into a yield-generating Ethereum infrastructure platform. BitMine will hold its annual shareholders meeting at the Wynn Las Vegas on January 15, 2026.
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