Tom Lee's Bitmine Keeps Buying Ethereum But Pivots to Record Share Buybacks

Bitmine Immersion Technologies continued its weekly Ethereum acquisition streak, adding 10,452 ETH, which equates to approximately $24 million.

However, the more significant action this week involved repurchasing the company's own stock. Bitmine announced on Monday that it bought back 2.04 million shares over the preceding week at an average price of $22.48.

This repurchase raised the firm’s 2026 total to 22.9 million shares, valued at roughly $399.6 million. Chairman Tom Lee characterized these buybacks as a value play, stating the firm plans to repurchase stock "accretively" when management perceives the shares as undervalued.

The addition of 10,452 ETH brings Bitmine's total holdings to 6,051,933 ETH. This amount represents 4.95% of Ethereum’s 122.2 million token supply.

This places the firm 99% of the way toward its stated target of owning 5% of the network, a goal Lee refers to as the “Alchemy of 5%.” Lee has indicated that Bitmine will cease buying once this threshold is reached.

In a parallel move, Strategy paused its Bitcoin purchases this week to spend $204.9 million on STRC buybacks. This shows that both major treasury firms are favoring strengthening their equity positions over acquiring new crypto assets.

As of Oct. 25, Bitmine’s total holdings, including cash, other tokens, and "moonshot" investments, amounted to $15 billion. These assets comprise 215 Bitcoin, $514 million in cash and marketable securities, an $180 million stake in Beast Industries, and a $76 million position in Eightco Holdings.