Bitmine, the largest corporate treasury of Ethereum, bought another 12,532 ETH last week, worth about $32 million. The purchase lifts its balance to 6,028,946 ETH, or 4.9% of the coin's total supply.
About 76,000 ETH remain before the stated 5% goal. On Monday Bitmine chairman Tom Lee explained why he expects a new wave of demand and repeated that the company will stop buying once it reaches the mark.
A $32 million tranche and six weeks to the goal
Bitmine has bought ether every week since June 2025, when it switched to an ether-centered strategy. The latest tranche is only 0.2% of current holdings. The gap to five percent is another 1.3% of what already sits on the balance sheet.
If the pace holds, the target arrives in roughly six weeks, which means late November. For the market that schedule matters because regular buying has a clear end date instead of dragging on indefinitely. In dollar terms it is small, since $32 million sits against a $15.3 billion portfolio.
The arithmetic is simple: 76,000 ETH divided by 12,532 ETH gives a little over six weeks. If the weekly volume rises, the deadline moves closer, and if it falls, the goal slips into December. Each new Monday report lets anyone check that math.
The 5% ceiling and the end of weekly buying
Lee said last week that Bitmine will stop accumulating ETH once it hits 5% of the total supply. Decrypt summed it up in a headline saying the firm is nearly done stacking. Ether's total supply stands at 122.1 million coins, according to CoinDesk, so five percent is a bit over 6.1 million ETH.
BMNR shares traded near $23.74 on Monday, 1.2% below the previous level, while ETH gained 0.9% to about $2,510. The reaction in both assets is small, which looks like the market knew about the stopping plan in advance.
For the market this means one steady buyer disappears. How much the weekly purchases of about 12,000 ETH showed up in the price is not clear from the reports, so any estimate of the effect should stay cautious.
Staking brings in $336 million a year
Around 5.07 million ETH sit in staking, which is 84% of the holdings. By the company's estimate, current yields bring in roughly $336 million a year. Divide that by the value of staked ether at about $2,510 and you get 2.6% annually (our own calculation, not a company figure).
For scale, $336 million a year equals about ten tranches of $32 million. In other words, staking alone funds roughly ten weeks of such purchases if yields stay put.
Staking rewards are also paid in ETH, so the stash can formally grow without new purchases. Whether Bitmine will count such inflows toward its goal is not explained in the holdings update.
The $2 trillion inheritance thesis
Lee ties future growth to the transfer of wealth between generations. He pointed to IRS and Fundstrat estimates that between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion could change hands from 2026 through 2028. That is roughly $500-670 billion a year if spread evenly (our math).
"The wealth transfer underway is expected to support the upcoming crypto bull market as those inheriting wealth are younger and likely have a higher risk appetite for crypto and equities."
Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine, from a statement on October 12, 2026
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev cited a similar figure last month in a CNBC interview. In his words, more than $100 trillion will pass from older to younger generations over the coming decades. Lee added three more reasons for optimism, namely the tokenization of assets on Wall Street, the rise of AI applications and treasury companies holding tokens for the long term.
The Block described Lee's forecast as a potential largest-ever crypto bull market. The sources do not say what share of the $1.5-2 trillion sits in liquid financial assets, and those are the ones that could reach crypto markets.
How much of that money actually reaches crypto, nobody knows. An inheritance does not have to become a bet on ether, and it can just as easily go into real estate or deposits.
What could go wrong
For comparison, Strategy bought 250 Bitcoin for $21.5 million the same day, taking its stash to 848,250 BTC. For Strategy that is only 0.03% of its stash, while Bitmine's weekly buy equals 0.2% of its own balance. Relative to holdings, Bitmine's pace is about seven times faster, which is why its stopping plan is more visible to the market.
- Fund outflows: according to The Block, spot ether ETFs recorded a ninth straight day of withdrawals as of October 10.
- One company holds almost every twentieth coin, so any change in its strategy is felt in the market at once.
- Once buying stops, a regular buyer disappears, while Lee has so far only listed new reasons for growth.
Market conditions are not great. Bitcoin slipped below $83,000 on Monday, and the fear and greed index, per Decrypt, fell back to the August lows before the rally.
What to watch next? Mainly the size of the weekly tranche and the distance to 6.1 million ETH. If tranches start shrinking before Bitmine reaches the goal, it could be a sign of limited funds. There are no such signs yet.
A buyer that is about to leave
The recap in three numbers: 4.9% of supply already in one company's hands, 76,000 ETH to the stop, about six weeks. Bitmine should reach 5% around late November, and one of the most predictable sources of ether demand will vanish. ETH holds near $2,510. Whether other buyers have the appetite to replace Bitmine will be decided by the market, not by Lee's statements.
If you plan to sell ETH for hryvnia, it helps to watch not only the rate but also news about large buyers, since they are the ones who move supply.
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