BitMine’s Ethereum buying spree could end in six weeks

BitMine Immersion Technologies Chairman Tom Lee said the company will stop accumulating Ethereum once its holdings reach 5% of the cryptocurrency’s supply, capping the strategy that made it ETH’s largest corporate holder.Speaking at TOKEN2049 in Singapore, Lee said BitMine was already close to that limit and would not pursue an open-ended accumulation campaign. He said:“We only need to get another 100,000 ETH to get to 5%.”Notably, the company is actually slightly closer than Lee’s rounded estimate suggests. BitMine held 6,016,414 ETH as of Oct. 4, equal to about 4.9% of the 122.1 million ETH supply cited in its latest disclosure.This means BitMine would need roughly 88,586 ETH to reach 5% of the 122.1 million ETH supply used in its calculations.At an illustrative ETH price of $2,500, acquiring the remainder could cost roughly $221 million. BitMine reported $643 million in cash and marketable securities, giving it enough disclosed liquidity to cover the gap while retaining most of that liquidity.BitMine could reach its 5% ceiling within weeksBitMine’s latest official purchase rate puts Lee’s 5% ceiling within reach before the end of the year, even if the company slows its accumulat...