Tom Lee's BitMine Buys the Dip Amid 'Superficial' Crypto Selloff, Adding $214M in Ethereum

Leading Ethereum treasury steadfast BitMine Immersion Technologies made its largest ETH-denominated acquisition of 2026 past week, adding 126,971 ETH oregon astir $214 cardinal worthy of the second-largest cryptocurrency by marketplace cap.

The firm’s large acquisition comes amid what the steadfast sees arsenic a “strengthening case” for Ethereum pursuing the AI-assisted find of a vulnerability successful privateness protocol Zcash. Uncertainty implicit whether the vulnerability was really exploited led to a 40% plunge successful the terms of Zcash’s ZEC token past week, though it has since recovered immoderate of those losses.

“The wide selloff successful crypto, successful our view, is simply a superficial take,” said BitMine Chairman Tom Lee, successful a statement. (Disclaimer: Lee is an investor successful Decrypt’s genitor company, Dastan). 

“AI systems are going to find flaws successful centralized fiscal services rails and anemic decentralized protocols,” helium said. “We judge this really strengthens the usage lawsuit and merchandise marketplace acceptable for hardened and reliable decentralized blockchains similar Ethereum.”

Ethereum has rebounded astir 4% successful the past 24 hours, but has inactive fallen astir 15% successful the past week of trading, precocious changing hands astir $1,686. 

“We judge ETH prices should not beryllium coming nether pressure,” Lee added. 

As a effect of its latest purchase, BitMine’s treasury has expanded to 5,543,872 ETH valued astir $9.3 billion. From its full haul, astir 85% is presently staked via its Made-in-America Validator Network (MAVAN), providing it with projected staking revenues of astir $230 cardinal annually.

Tom Lee's Ethereum Treasury BitMine Prices Preferred Shares With 9.5% Dividend

If it were to involvement its full balance, it projects it would annualize astir $270 million, according to Lee.

Ethereum fell to its lowest terms successful implicit a twelvemonth past week, dipping to astir $1,522 precocious Friday earlier ticking up implicit the weekend. The latest plunge has pushed BitMine adjacent deeper into unrealized losses, with its Ethereum treasury presently astir $9.7 cardinal underwater, per information from DropsTab.

Last week, BitMine announced plans to motorboat a preferred stock that pays a 9.5% yearly dividend, pursuing the pb of $54 cardinal Bitcoin treasury elephantine Strategy. The steadfast upsized the offering to 3.5 cardinal shares astatine $80 apiece, expecting to nett astir $274 cardinal aft fees to assistance substance aboriginal ETH acquisitions and different concern purposes.