Bitmine Buys 12,532 More ETH as Tom Lee’s Buying ‘Stop’ Draws Closer

Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE:BMNR) bought 12,532 more Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) last week, inching closer to Chairman Tom Lee‘s 5% supply cap that will trigger a full stop on purchases. Holdings Near the Finish Line Bitmine announced Monday that its crypto holdings, cash and marketable securities now total $16.2 billion. As of Oct. 11, the company held 6,028,946 ETH, worth $2,544 per token, equal to 4.9% of the total 122.1 million ETH supply. As Benzinga reported last week, Lee said at Token2049 that Bitmine will stop buying once it reaches 5%, needing only about 100,000 more ETH to get there. At last week’s pace, that puts the company roughly six to seven weeks from hitting its target. Why Lee Calls This the Start of a Bigger Bull Run Bitmine released its October Chairman’s Message on Oct. 7, titled “Crypto Bull Underway—This Cycle Likely the Largest.” Lee pointed to four forces he expects to drive the next cycle: tokenization, wealth transfer, digital asset treasuries absorbing supply, and crypto’s role as a downstream AI story. On wealth transfer specifically, Lee cited Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) CEO Vlad Tenev’s recent comment that $100 trillion in wealth is changing hands, with IRS and Fundstrat data estimating $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion of that shifting between 2026 and 2028. Moreover, Lee argued younger heirs tend to carry higher risk appetite for crypto, making this wealth transfer a stronger tailwind than the one seen in the 2019-2021 cycle. He also flagged digital asset treasuries like Bitmine as a structural difference from prior cycles, since these companies remove supply from circulation permanently rather than trading it. BMNP Preferred Stock Outperforms Comparable Yields Bitmine’s preferred stock, BMNP (NYSE:BMNP), issued at $80 in June, has gained 24% since launch and last closed at $99.53. Lee said BMNP’s 9.56% yield sits 256 basis points below Strategy’s (NASDAQ:MSTR) comparable Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) credit yield and 515 basis points below Solana’s (CRYPTO: SOL) CHAD yield, which he called evidence of ETH’s stronger yield and stability profile. ETH’s Quarterly Performance Against Stocks Lee also highlighted that ETH outperformed the S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) by 6,832 basis points in the third quarter, despite a hawkish Fed, rising oil prices, and tightening global financial conditions. BMNR stock also outperformed ETH itself during the 2025-2026 bear market, falling just 3% over the first nine months of 2026 compared to ETH’s 10% decline. Where BMNR Stands Technically .benzinga-widget#bz-embed-widget-block_5664d12988aab6f634ef7ede3a5c21e3 iframe.w-full { width: 100%; } BMNR is consolidating after pulling back from September’s $29 high. Price sits below its 20-day EMA near $25 but above its 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day EMAs, currently testing trendline support from July’s $13 low. Key levels for BMNR: $25: 20-day EMA, resistance above $23: trendline support, key level to hold Photo via Shutterstock Read Also: SpaceX Shares Up 22% in 2 Months, Crushing S&P 500’s 1% Gain