BitMine Buys 112K ETH as Tom Lee Predicts Ethereum Supercycle

BitMine Immersion Technologies bought 111,942 ETH for over $237 million last week. By token count, this is the firm's largest single acquisition in 2026. Chairman Tom Lee called the price of Ethereum below $2,200 an "attractive opportunity" to add to the position and once again made his case for a coming crypto supercycle.

112,000 ETH in a Single Week

The purchases went through while ETH was trading between $2,025 and $2,147. After the buy, BitMine's total holdings reached 5,390,404 ETH, valued at roughly $11.4 billion. That puts the firm at 4.4% of the current circulating supply of 120.7 million ETH.

About 644,000 more ETH are needed to hit the 5% target, which Lee expects to reach sometime in 2026. The company buys on dips. Earlier in May, BitMine had deliberately eased its purchase pace to avoid hitting the milestone too soon, but the ETH drop below $2,200 reversed that. Before the slowdown, BitMine had bought over 100,000 ETH per week for three straight weeks.

This is the fourth major acquisition since the start of 2026. Total spending on ETH this year has crossed $6 billion as BitMine steadily builds its share of circulating supply.

The Supercycle Case: Two Catalysts

"We continue to expect a supercycle ahead for crypto and Ethereum, driven by the dual drivers of Wall Street tokenization and agentic AI. And thus, we continue to steadily acquire ETH."

- Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies, company statement, May 2026

Lee points to two structural trends converging. First, traditional financial markets are moving stocks, bonds, and funds onto blockchain rails. Second, agentic AI systems need a programmable settlement asset for autonomous transactions. In both cases, Ethereum as a smart-contract network fits the role.

BitMine mirrors the Strategy playbook of Michael Saylor, but swaps Bitcoin for Ethereum. Public company status means access to capital markets. Shares and bonds convert into ETH. Saylor's bet is on Bitcoin scarcity, Lee's is on Ethereum yield. The tokenized real-world asset market exceeded $51 billion in early 2026, and AI agents moved $73 million through stablecoins over the past year. Both figures confirm that demand for blockchain rails is real, not theoretical.

Staking Revenue: $276 Million per Year

The firm has staked 4.7 million ETH through its own platform, MAVAN (Made in America Validator Network). That is nearly 88% of the total portfolio. At current network parameters, projected annual staking revenue comes to $276 million.

This is where the model splits from spot Ethereum ETFs. Those funds hold the asset without any operating cash flow. BitMine earns every day. Infrastructure provider Everstake published a report Tuesday noting pressure on ETH treasury companies. The market increasingly compares them to spot ETFs, which carry no NAV discount. Staking revenue is the counterargument.

Ethereum network staking hit a new record. Validators have locked up 39.2 million ETH (32.19% of circulating supply), with another 3.3 million waiting in the activation queue. The exit queue stands at 234,000 ETH. The trend toward lower liquid supply continues.

Russell 1000 and Passive Demand

Next month, BitMine joins the Russell 1000 index, which tracks the 1,000 largest U.S. companies. The index serves as a benchmark for hundreds of passive funds and ETFs managing trillions of dollars. When a stock enters the index, those funds are required to buy shares automatically, proportional to their assets. Lee hinted at an expected wave of demand from this mechanism but gave no specific figures.

• BMNR gained 3-4% on the news, trading near $19.51
• Shares are down 12% over the past month and more than 38% over six months
• Russell 1000 inclusion is scheduled for June 2026
• Passive ETFs and index funds automatically purchase shares upon inclusion

ETH at $2,100 and the Market Signal

Ethereum is trading near $2,100 and has dropped another 11% over the past month. From its August record of $4,946, the asset sits 58% lower. BitMine chose this exact zone for its biggest buy of the year.

Staking income of $276 million per year, a target of 5% circulating supply, and inflows from Russell 1000 together form a clear financial case. For the market, the move signals that institutional buying holds even deep in a correction. Will the Lee supercycle materialize? The answer comes later. But a position of 5.4 million ETH at $2,100 rests on numbers, not just a forecast.