Tom Lee Calls Cryptocurrency Price Drop "Mini Winter" as Bitmine Adds 45,759 ETH

Blotienso · 2026-02-18T01:57:28+00:00

On February 17, Bitmine announced the acquisition of 45,759 ETH for approximately $91.4 million, increasing its total holdings to 4.37 million ETH. Despite a cautious market reaction, the company remains focused on its long-term strategy, aiming to accumulate 5% of total ETH supply while maintaining its staking efforts.

Blotienso

2026-02-18 01:57:28

Abstract generation in progress

On February 17th, Bitmine announced that it had purchased 45,759 ETH at an approximate cost of $91.4 million, with an average price of $1,998 per token, bringing its total ETH holdings to 4,371,497 ETH — valued at nearly $8.73 billion at the same price level. Currently, the company controls about 3.62% of the total circulating supply of 120.7 million ETH.

Under the leadership of Tom Lee, Bitmine has not hidden its ambition for the “5% magic”: accumulating 5% of the total ETH supply. With over 72% of this goal achieved in about seven months, the company appears to be in an accumulation phase despite short-term price volatility.

Lee describes the current state of the cryptocurrency market as a “mini winter,” suggesting that market sentiment has fallen to levels reminiscent of previous cycle lows in 2018 and 2022. “We cannot control the price of Ethereum, and the company continues to buy ETH regardless of price trends because Ethereum’s long-term prospects remain very promising,” Lee stated in the company’s press release.

Staking remains a key focus of the company’s strategy. As of February 16th, Bitmine had staked 3,040,483 ETH — approximately 69% of its total ETH holdings — with an estimated value of around $6.1 billion. The staked balance generates annual revenue of about $176 million, based on an annual internal rate of return (IRR) over 7 days of 2.89%, slightly higher than the overall Ethereum Staking Rate (CESR) of 2.84%. When fully deployed, the company estimates the annual staking rewards could reach $252 million.

In addition to Ethereum, Bitmine holds 193 Bitcoin, $670 million in cash, and minority stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings. The total value of Bitmine’s cryptocurrencies, cash, and breakthrough investments amounts to approximately $9.6 billion.

Market reaction has been cautious. BMNR’s stock fell 4.68% to $19.98 on Tuesday afternoon, reflecting investor concerns over an unrealized loss of about $8 billion related to previous high-cost acquisitions.

Nevertheless, the company affirms its long-term strategy, citing the potential role of the Ethereum network in tokenization, artificial intelligence (AI) applications, and creator-focused ecosystems.

Whether this thesis will materialize remains to be seen. What is clear is that Bitmine is not waiting for better conditions to continue mining.

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