Ethereum news: Tom Lee's Bitmine (BMNR) bought the dip, acquiring 126,971 ETH as prices tanked

Bitmine bought the dip, making its biggest ether purchase in 2026 as prices tanked

The company bought 126,971 ETH last week, worth roughly $214 million at current prices, despite chairman Tom Lee's earlier calls to slow purchases.

Bitmine (BMNR), the largest Ethereum treasury company, ramped up its purchases of ether (ETH) last week, making its largest weekly purchase in 2026 as crypto prices tanked.

The firm bought 126,971 ETH over the past week, worth roughly $214 million at current prices, Bitmine said on Monday, compared to 26,497 tokens the previous week and nearly 120,000 ETH the week before.

The purchase lifted the firm's total holdings to 5.54 million ETH, worth some $9.3 billion at current prices, according to the report. The firm also held $247 million in cash, some bitcoin and stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings.

The acquisition marks a reversal from the company's previous call to slow down accumulation as it nears its goal to corner 5% of ether's outstanding supply. The company now holds 4.59% of the token's supply and is set to reach the 5% goal later this year.

"We increased our buying as we believe this pullback in ETH prices does not reflect the strengthening of Ethereum fundamentals," Bitmine chairman Thomas Lee said in a statement.

Bitmine has remained one of the few large digital asset treasury firms still actively adding to its crypto holdings, while most peers have halted purchases and pivoted to sell as crypto prices turned sharply lower since October. That bet is sitting on an estimated $9.6 billion of paper losses as ETH fell to its weakest price in more than a year, down some 65% from its August record.

The firm also unveiled plans to issue a preferred equity class that pays dividends to raise more funds, taking a page from bitcoin-centric Strategy's playbook.

That model, however, has come under investor scrutiny. Investors are now debating whether Strategy will be able to comfortably pay its dividend obligations or shore up liquidity as bitcoin prices fell sharply last week. STRC, the firm's latest preferred share class, fell to $90 Friday, some 10% below its par value, underscoring those worries.