BitMine bought $105M ETH to start 2026, holding $915M cash
Ethereum's largest corporate owner, BitMine Immersion Technologies, has resumed purchases of the cryptocurrency in the new year, as some analysts continue to believe in Ethereum as they expect price weakness in the near future.
BitMine bought 105 million dollars worth of ether (ETH) in the first purchases of the new year, according to a post on Wednesday X from the blockchain data platform Arkham.
The treasury company now holds 4.07 million ether worth $12.6 billion, which represents 3.36% of the ETH supply, according to data from Strategic Ethereum Reserve.
BitMine still holds $915 million in total cash reserves, according to Monday's latest update, which the company can use to acquire more ETH as the company pushes toward its strategic goal of collecting 5% of the supply.
Related: Morgan Stanley adds Ethereum staking ETF to growing crypto lineup
The latest purchases follow a sharp increase in BitMine's stock activity. Blockchain data tracked by Lookonchain shows that the company holds more than $2.87 billion worth of Ether, including the 128,000 tokens added in recent days.
The $105 million investment shows confidence in Ether's long-term price appreciation, despite Although a local bottom is expected in the first quarter of 2026, BitMine chairman and co-founder and managing partner of Fundstrat Global Advisors Tom Lee.
Lee predicted a “significant decline” for Ether to around $1,800 in the first half of the year.
Related: Bitcoin ETFs Attract $697M in Second Trading Day in 2026
After the 2025 “stress test,” Wells raised $11 million in Ether as analysts eyed recovery.
Whales, or large cryptocurrency investors, are increasing their positions in Ether exposure, according to crypto intelligence platform Nansen.
Whales bought $11.2 million worth of Ether in 38 wallets last week, while fresh wallets bought a total of $1.16 billion. But smart money traders took down $9.48 million during the same period, Nansen said.
Meanwhile, the 2025 crypto bear market has proven to be an important “stress test” for institutional entrants looking to tap into the emerging industry, according to Jimmy Shu, co-founder and chief operating officer of Axis, an onchain quantitative product platform that manages $100 million in live capital.
“The value was not only in evaluations, but also in risk mitigation. The industry has adopted real-time verification and compliance infrastructure, and institutional barriers are being reduced,” Xue told Cointelegraph.
“2026 may not be a retail frenzy, but we should see a migration of liquidity where crypto will eventually act as the underpinnings of global finance.”
Jamie Coates, chief crypto analyst at Real Vision, also sees the poor performance of altcoins over the past year as “the start of a multi-year ride of institutional capital” in terms of their fundamental value and network adoption of the leading blockchain protocols.
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