BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), the Ethereum-focused crypto treasury firm led by Fundstrat’s Thomas Lee, said on Monday that it acquired 96,798 worth of ether. Until last week, its buying spree continued while digital asset hoards remain under pressure due to falling cryptocurrency prices.
The latest purchase brought the company’s total ETH holdings to 3.73 million tokens, worth around $10.5 billion at the latest prices, extending its lead as Ethereum’s largest treasury company. The company also owns 192 bitcoins. a $36 million stake in Eightco Holdings (ORBS) and $882 million in cash.
BitMine shares fell 7.7% premarket as ETH plummeted 6% overnight to just over $2,800.
Digital asset treasuries, or DATs, are feeling the pressure as falling cryptocurrency prices and falling stock valuations have pushed many to pull out. Most have stopped increasing their cryptocurrency reserves, while some have even started selling, aiming to close the gap between their share price and net asset value.
BitMine remained one of the few companies that continued buying. However, the company is estimated to have nearly $4 billion in unrealized losses in its ETH reserve.
Next Ethereum update, Fed policy
BitMine’s Thomas Lee pointed to market conditions and the upcoming Ethereum network upgrade as key motivators for increasing the pace of acquisitions from the previous week. The Fusaka update, which is expected to go live on December 3, is designed to improve scalability, security, and usability on the Ethereum network.
Speaking of the macro backdrop, Lee said the Federal Reserve is expected to pause quantitative tightening (QT) this month and will likely cut interest rates at the December meeting, while crypto markets have stabilized since the October 10 crash.
“Collectively, we view these as acting as positive tailwinds for ETH prices and therefore increased our weekly ETH purchases by 39%,” he said in a statement.
