BitMine, an Ethereum focused treasury firm chaired by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, purchased approximately $83 million worth of ETH on Monday, even as its existing holdings remain heavily underwater.
The buying took place during another turbulent trading session for Ethereum, with on chain data indicating strong selling activity from other major holders and ETH hovering near multi month lows.
BitMine Accumulates ETH as Other Whales Sell
According to data shared by analytics firm Lookonchain on February 10 and 11, BitMine completed two major purchases of 20,000 ETH each through institutional platforms BitGo and FalconX.
The firm has been steadily adding to its position, acquiring more than 40,000 ETH last week and nearly 42,000 ETH the week before. BitMine now holds around 4.32 million ETH, accumulated at an average price of $3,850 per token. With ETH currently trading near $2,040, Lookonchain estimates the firm is sitting on unrealized losses exceeding $7.8 billion.
Despite this, Lee has played down the recent sell off, arguing that price action is not aligned with Ethereum’s on chain fundamentals. He has pointed to record levels of daily transactions and suggested that the downturn is driven by external factors such as rising gold prices and low leverage, rather than weaknesses in the Ethereum network.
Lee also emphasized that BitMine carries no debt that would force it to liquidate its ETH holdings. This stance contrasts sharply with other large investors. Lookonchain data shows that Trend Research has sold nearly all of its ETH since early February, depositing more than 650,000 tokens to Binance and realizing losses of roughly $747 million.
Ethereum Faces Pressure but Long Term Signals Emerge
Ethereum is down about one percent over the past 24 hours and nearly 13 percent over the past week. Over the last month, the asset has lost more than 34 percent of its value, according to CoinGecko.
ETH fell below $2,000 on February 5 for the first time in months. While selling pressure from large holders has been evident, other indicators suggest potential relief ahead. Analyst CoinNiel recently noted that ETH exchange reserves have dropped to multi year lows, signaling that long term holders may be moving assets off exchanges.
The current market reflects a clear split. Some participants are exiting positions after steep losses, while others, including BitMine, are increasing exposure based on long term confidence that Ethereum’s fundamentals are stronger than current prices suggest.
