I just saw an interesting news about the ongoing Ethereum accumulation strategy. Bitmine last week increased their position by buying more than 51,000 ETH, bringing their total holdings to 4.42 million ETH. That accounts for about 3.66% of the total global Ethereum supply, and with ETH priced at around $2,030, their holdings are valued at approximately $8.7 billion. They are now the second-largest crypto reserve company in the world, only behind those focused on Bitcoin.

What’s interesting is that Tom Lee, the chairman of Bitmine, remains aggressive in adding to their position despite the market being under pressure. He says that the current Ethereum price still doesn’t fully reflect its actual utility value. Tom Lee has three fundamental reasons for his long-term optimism. First, the tokenization of traditional assets from Wall Street onto the blockchain will continue to accelerate, with Ethereum serving as the main settlement layer for this. Second, AI agents trading and managing funds on the blockchain are booming, and Ethereum has the most mature smart contract infrastructure. Third, the creator economy will need blockchain verification for content and digital identity, meaning more applications will be built on Ethereum.

According to Tom Lee, these three trends will create unprecedented demand for Ethereum. He believes this is the best timing to invest.

On the staking side, Bitmine has committed 3.04 million ETH out of their total holdings, about 68.7%, with an annual return of 2.89%. Passive income from staking generates around $171 million per year. They plan to launch a dedicated validator network in the US (MAVAN) this year, and if all 4.42 million ETH are staked through MAVAN, the annual return could rise to $249 million.

Bitmine also diversifies their portfolio with 193 Bitcoin, shares in Beast Industries worth about $200 million, an investment commitment in Eightco Holdings of $19 million, plus a cash buffer of $691 million. This setup allows them to keep accumulating ETH while maintaining healthy liquidity. Basically, Tom Lee and Bitmine are betting big that Ethereum will become a super important infrastructure layer in the future, and they’re not afraid to double down at the current price level.