BitMine establishes 5% Ethereum supply ceiling as holdings approach accumulation goal
Chairman Tom Lee announced BitMine's decision to cap Ethereum accumulation at 5% of total supply, converting what was initially a target into a firm upper limit.
According to Chairman Tom Lee, BitMine Immersion Technologies has decided to limit its Ethereum holdings to no more than 5% of the cryptocurrency's total circulating supply.
During his keynote address at Token2049 in Singapore on Wednesday, Lee revealed that BitMine is approaching this threshold following the acquisition of approximately 6 million Ether, which represents roughly 4.9% of the total supply. He indicated the company requires an additional 100,000 ETH to hit its target.
That's a hard cap. We're not gonna be accumulating past 5%. We're not gonna own more than 5% of Ethereum.
Tom Lee, BitMine Chairman
In previous statements, Lee had maintained flexibility regarding the potential to accumulate beyond 5% of Ether's supply, contingent upon Ethereum's adoption trajectory. During an August conversation with Bankless, he mentioned the company might reconsider this possibility in 2027.
BitMine says it is "done stacking" Ether
According to Lee, BitMine amassed the majority of its Ether position during what he characterized as a cryptocurrency bear market, explaining that the company successfully built its holdings while market prices remained suppressed.
We did all this buying in a bear market. We protected the downside for ETH because we were buying. But now, we're done stacking in front of a 25X move.
Tom Lee
Lee further connected the 5% ceiling to BitMine's overall capital allocation approach. Halting its accumulation activities would eliminate the requirement to secure additional funding for continued Ether purchases.
So if we have a 5% hard cap, that means we're gonna outperform ETH on the way up, right? 'Cause you don't have to worry about us trying to raise capital. We're done.
Tom Lee
BitMine has leveraged capital markets to construct its Ethereum treasury. In June, the company initiated a $300 million perpetual preferred stock offering. By early August, BitMine had bought back 16.1 million common shares under its $4 billion buyback program.
Despite the cessation of Ether acquisitions, staking activities could potentially increase BitMine's total holdings. Lee had previously indicated the company might divest ETH generated through staking operations to ensure its portion of supply remains below the 5% threshold.