BitMine Adds $74M in Ethereum as Strategy Sells Bitcoin for Dividends

BitMine, chaired by Tom Lee, added another $74 million in Ethereum last week. At the same time, Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, sold $216 million worth of Bitcoin to fund dividend payments. Two of crypto's largest corporate treasury holders are moving in opposite directions, and traders are already reading it as a signal for the ETH/BTC ratio.

Two Companies, Two Opposite Bets

BitMine Immersion Technologies said Sunday it added 42,197 Ether to its holdings over the past week. The company's total stash reached 5,742,237 Ethereum, about 4.8% of the token's circulating supply. Of that, 4.87 million coins are staked and generate steady yield from network validation. By BitMine's own estimate, the latest purchases cost roughly $74 million at an average price of $1,759 per token.

On the same day, Monday, Strategy reported selling 3,588 Bitcoin worth $216 million. The trades took place between June 29 and July 5. Michael Saylor's company remains the largest corporate Bitcoin holder in the world, with 843,775 coins left after the sale. Both firms built their public businesses around holding crypto on the balance sheet, and this week they moved in mirror-opposite directions. BitMine has long positioned itself as an Ether-focused mirror of Strategy, with Ethereum standing where Bitcoin sits in Saylor's model.

Why BitMine Is Speeding Up Its Ethereum Buys

BitMine chair Tom Lee tied the new purchases to political momentum around the CLARITY Act, a bill regulating the US digital asset market. He said rising odds of passage make smart contract platforms like Ethereum more attractive to large holders.

The bill would also expand the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's authority to oversee the digital asset market, which is why the industry is watching its fate so closely. Prediction markets such as Polymarket put the odds of the CLARITY Act passing by year end at around 48%. The bill needs 60 votes to clear the Senate, where Republicans hold only a slim majority. Democrats have held back clear support so far over open questions about ethics provisions in the text. That is why traders treat every new signal about the vote as a reason to move on the ETH/BTC pair.

"The rise in the ETH/BTC ratio in the past few days make sense as markets start to see greater chances of Clarity Act passage."

- Tom Lee, Chairman, BitMine, from a company statement, July 6, 2026

Why Strategy Is Offloading Bitcoin Right Now

Saylor's company isn't selling because it lost confidence in the asset. It needs cash to cover payouts on its preferred stock. Strategy's dividend program requires a steady stream of cash, and a slice of its Bitcoin became one source of that funding.

The company posted an $8.3 billion loss last quarter. Despite that, management left its $2.55 billion cash reserve untouched and chose to sell part of its crypto holdings instead. The setup is called the BTC Monetization Program. It works as a buffer between Bitcoin's price and the company's debt obligations. For holders of Strategy's preferred shares, this means payouts don't come directly from cash reserves. They're partly funded by selling the firm's core balance-sheet asset.

What It Means for Traders and the Market

The split in strategy between crypto's two largest treasury companies gives traders a fresh gauge of market mood. At publication time, Bitcoin traded near $63,700 and Ethereum sat around $1,790.

Here's what market participants are already weighing:

• Strategy's sale shows that even the largest corporate Bitcoin holder depends on cash flow as much as on its long-term accumulation plan.
• BitMine's buys support the idea of capital rotating toward Ethereum as US regulatory progress unfolds.
• The ETH/BTC pair is turning into an indicator worth watching for anyone trading these assets directly or converting them to cash or bank cards: a sharp shift in the ratio can briefly throw exchange-office rates out of sync before they realign with the broader market.
• A Senate vote on the CLARITY Act could trigger fresh moves in both coins regardless of current corporate buying or selling.

What's Next: The Senate Vote and What Follows

Republicans plan to bring the CLARITY Act to a vote as soon as senators return from their state work periods. Democrats haven't given a clear signal on support yet, and questions about ethics provisions in the bill remain unresolved.

While the process moves slowly, the market keeps reacting to every corporate move. BitMine and Strategy showed this week that even the two largest public treasury holders of crypto see their future differently: one is building its Ethereum position on hopes of regulatory progress, the other is selling Bitcoin to keep shareholder payouts flowing.