On the week ended October 11, 2023, BitMine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR) purchased 12,532 ETH for an indicative value of $31.9 million. The press releases of October 5 and 12, however, reveal a completely different reality: the total value of the company’s crypto assets, its treasury and its strategic holdings increased from 17.4 to 16.2 billion dollars in one week. This development illustrates an essential distinction: accumulating Ethereum crypto-assets does not guarantee an increase in the value of the portfolio.
In brief
- BitMine purchased 12,532 ETH in the week ended October 11, 2026, at a benchmark valuation of $2,544 per ETH.
- Its reserves reach 6,028,946 ETH, or 4.9% of an estimated supply of 122.1 million ETH.
- The total announced value of its crypto assets, treasury and holdings fell from $17.4 billion to $16.2 billion in one week.
- At constant supply, 76,054 ETH theoretically separate BitMine from the 5% threshold, according to our calculations.
- The company has staked 5,067,309 ETH and estimates its annualized revenue at $336M, based on a recent yield of 2.61%.
How much ETH is BitMine missing to reach 5% of Ethereum’s global supply?
As of October 11, 2026, BitMine held 6,028,946 ETH. This represents 4.9% of the estimated supply of 122.1 million tokens, according to its press release from October 12. At a constant quantity, the threshold corresponds to 6,105,000 ETH. The company is therefore theoretically missing 76,054 ETH.
This calculation, however, differs from Tom Lee’s rounded estimate. In his monthly message of October 7, the president of BitMine mentioned ~100,000 more ETH before Ethereum accumulation phase ends. The difference is explained in particular by:
- the rounding used by the manager;
- the evolution of crypto assets between the two dates.
Based on an ETH price of $2,544, the 76,054 tokens missing would represent approximately $193.4 million. However, this is an estimate based on the reference price used by BitMine, not the guaranteed future cost of crypto acquisitions.
The company claims to have purchased Ethereum every week since the launch of its treasury strategy on June 30, 2025. According to it, its program has therefore been 99% successful. In his October messageTom Lee even indicates that BitMine is approaching the end of this Ethereum accumulation phase. The exact timing of the latest purchase, however, is not established.
Why is BitMine losing $1.2 billion in valuation despite its crypto purchases?
The total value of BitMine’s crypto assets, treasury and strategic holdings fell from $17.4 billion on October 4 to $16.2 billion on October 11, 2026. The decrease amounts to $1.2 billion, or approximately 6.9% in one week.
The main explanation lies in the value of Ethereum. The reference price used by BitMine increased from $2,726 on October 4 to $2,544 on October 11. Which represents a decline of around 6.7%. This decrease comes despite the purchase of an additional 12,532 ETH.
Other holdings also weighed on the valuation. BitMine notably evaluates its stake in Eightco Holdings to $85 million as of October 11, compared to $117 million a week earlier. The company also has a reported $180 million stake in Beast Industries. Its cash and marketable securities stood at $612 million, compared to $643 million as of October 4.
| Indicator | October 4, 2026 | October 11, 2026 |
| ETH held | 6,016,414 | 6,028,946 |
| ETH Reference Price | $2,726 | $2,544 |
| Cash and marketable securities | $643 million | $612 million |
| Participation in Eightco | $117 million | $85 million |
| Total declared assets, cash and shareholdings | $17.4 billion | $16.2 billion |
Ethereum purchases slow as 5% threshold approaches
BitMine purchased 53,501 ETH in the week ending August 30, 2026, compared to only 12,532 ETH in the week ending October 11. According to our calculations, the drop therefore reached approximately 76.6% in six weeks.
This comparison, however, does not mean that the company has stopped accumulating. She said she has continued shopping every week since launching her “Alchemy of 5%” program. The slowdown also seems consistent with the proximity of the announced objective. However, it is not enough to prove that the Ethereum purchases will stop with the next publication.
| Date of press release | ETH purchased during the period | Total held |
| August 31, 2026 | 53,501 | 5,901,112 |
| September 8, 2026 | 28,086 | 5,929,198 |
| September 14, 2026 | 27,180 | 5,956,378 |
| September 28, 2026 | 44,924 over two weeks | 6,001,302 |
| October 5, 2026 | 15,112 | 6,016,414 |
| October 12, 2026 | 12,532 | 6,028,946 |
Tom Lee presents strategy as a way toaccumulate a significant portion of Ethereum’s supply before a possible new bullish phase. This interpretation obviously belongs to BitMine management. It does not demonstrate that the Ethereum price will increase nor that the BMNR share will evolve in the same proportions.
The accumulation of the majority of our 6 million ETH took place in the heart of a bear market, and as the company approaches its 5% ETH accumulation target, we believe it is well positioned heading into the next bull market.
Tom Lee, President of Bitmine Immersion Technologies, company press release dated October 12, 2026.
Ethereum staking represents 84% of BitMine reserves
As of October 11, BitMine declared having placed 5,067,309 ETH in staking. This represents about 84% of his 6,028,946 ETH. At the reference price of $2,544, this quantity represented approximately $12.9 billion.
That’s not all! BitMine also estimates its annualized revenues linked to staking at $336 millionbased on an annualized return of 2.61% calculated from the last seven days. At full scale, the company projects annualized revenues of $400 million if its assets were fully staked by MAVAN and its partners.
One thing is certain: BitMine appears to be nearing the end of its “Alchemy of 5%” program. Expected around October 19 (if the pace of publication continues), the next weekly update will make it possible to check the volume of new purchases and the valuation retained for Ethereum. File to follow…
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