Tom Lee Calls Crypto Spring As Bitmine Stakes $11.1B In ETH

Ethereum 2026-05-12 00:30

Tom Lee Calls Crypto Spring As Bitmine Stakes .1B In ETH

Bitmine has purchased 26,659 Ether (ETH) and lifted its treasury above 5.2 million tokens, even as Chairman Tom Lee declared the start of a new crypto spring.

Bitmine Treasury Tops 5.2 Million ETH

The latest weekly buy, valued near $63 million at current prices, lands at roughly a quarter of Bitmine's recent pace. The Ethereum treasury firm now holds 5.2 million ETH, or about 4.31% of the circulating supply.

Total crypto and cash holdings stood at $13.4 billion, including 201 Bitcoin (BTC) and $775 million in cash. The firm has also acquired more than 1 million ETH since the start of 2026, Lee said.

Bitmine has staked over 4.7 million ETH, more than 90% of its holdings, worth roughly $11.1 billion. Lee projects annualized staking rewards of $352 million once the full position is staked.

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Tom Lee Says Bear Market Is Fading

Lee, who chairs Bitmine and serves as chief investment officer at Fundstrat, told attendees at last week's Consensus 2026 conference in Miami that the firm is moderating its pace as it closes in on its long-term target of owning 5% of all ETH.

"If ETH closes above $2,100 at the end of May, this would be the third consecutive monthly gain, which has never been seen in a crypto bear market," Lee said.

He pointed to Wall Street tokenization and agentic AI systems as the structural drivers behind his outlook. Bitmine's roughly 90% staking rate, he argued, gives the company recurring income that cuts the need to sell tokens during downturns.

ETH Price Recovery Backdrop

Ether has recovered from the October 2025 sell-off that pushed crypto prices into what Lee earlier described as a "mini-crypto winter." ETH traded near $2,380 in early May, up roughly 16% over the previous month.

Bitmine's earlier weekly buys had topped 100,000 ETH for three straight weeks before Monday's pullback.

Lee has steadily ramped his crypto-spring messaging since late April, when he pushed back against the consensus view that the downturn would drag into autumn.

The firm pivoted from Bitcoin mining to an Ethereum treasury strategy in June 2025 and has since reached 86% of its 5% supply target, all in under a year.

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This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

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