Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), the largest Ethereum (ETH) treasury, accelerated its buying pace last week, buying 42,197 ether (ETH), as Chairman Thomas Lee pointed to the improving outlook for US cryptocurrency legislation as a catalyst for the asset.
The latest purchase, worth about $74 million based on the current ether price of around $1,750, brought the company’s holdings to 5.74 million ETH, according to an update on Monday. The stash is now worth around $10 billion and represents 4.8% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, inching closer to the company’s goal of cornering 5% of the asset’s supply.
The company also held 206 bitcoins, $527 million in cash and marketable securities, as well as stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings, bringing its total cryptocurrency, cash and investment holdings to $11.1 billion.
The acquisition marks an increase from the previous week’s purchase of 27,084 ETH, although it remains below the six-figure weekly purchase pace BitMine maintained earlier this year.
Bitmine buys while the strategy sells
Bitmine’s continued purchases contrast with a shift in Strategy (MSTR), the largest digital asset hoard and corporate bitcoin holder, which sold around $216 million in BTC to raise cash. The sale marked a rare reduction in Strategy’s bitcoin holdings and underscored the funding pressures the company faces amid the slowing cryptocurrency market and rising dividend obligations.
