Bitmine buys more ether as Tom Lee says rising ETH/BTC ratio points to stronger crypto prices

Bitmine buys more ether as Tom Lee says rising ETH/BTC ratio points to stronger crypto prices

The Ethereum treasury company added nearly 10,000 ETH while expanding its stock buyback, citing ether outperforming bitcoin is sending a bullish signal.

Bitmine bought 9,946 ether last week, lifting its holdings to 5.79 million ETH ($11.2 billion), or about 4.8% of ether’s circulating supply, as it pursues a long-term goal of owning 5%. The company also stepped up share repurchases, buying back 6.1 million shares under its $4 billion buyback authorization, up from 5.5 million the previous week. Chairman Tom Lee cited ether’s outperformance of bitcoin and a three-month high in the ETH/BTC ratio, along with ETH’s 24% monthly gain and recent price recovery, as signs of strengthening crypto market sentiment.

Bitmine (BMNR), the largest Ethereum treasury company, continued its ether (ETH) purchases last week as Chairman Tom Lee pointed to ether (ETH) outperforming bitcoin BTC$64,956.84 as evidence the crypto market is regaining momentum.

The company bought 9,946 ETH, worth about $19.4 million at current prices, up from 7,430 ETH the previous week, according to a Monday update. The purchase lifted Bitmine's holdings to 5,787,414 ETH ($11.2 billion), or about 4.8% of ether’s circulating supply.

Lee said Bitmine also increased its share repurchases, buying back 6.1 million shares, compared with 5.5 million a week earlier, under its $4 billion buyback authorization.

The latest purchase remains well below the company's buying pace earlier this year, when Bitmine routinely acquired tens of thousands of ETH each week. Even so, the company has continued adding to its treasury every week since launching the strategy in June 2025 and now owns roughly 4.8% of Ethereum's total supply, putting it within reach of its long-term goal of accumulating 5%.

Ether relative strength

The company's optimistic outlook stems in part from the recent strength of ETH relative to BTC, a metric traders often use to gauge risk appetite within crypto markets.

"We view the rising ETH/BTC ratio, despite the falling odds of passage of the CLARITY Act in 2026, as a sign crypto prices are strengthening," Lee said. "In fact, this ratio is now at a three-month high at 0.3000, which we believe bodes well for future strengthening of ETH prices."

Lee also pointed to thereum's recent price recovery as another sign that sentiment may be improving. ETH hit a 10-week high on Monday, he said, adding that the next technical levels to watch are $2,000 and $2,500.

Ether has been one of the strongest-performing asset in the CoinDesk 20 index over the past month, advancing roughly 24%, outperforming bitcoin’s 8% gain, CoinDesk data shows.

1Thailand's SEC alleges Bitkub concealed cyberattack that led to $50 million hack2 minutes ago 2Nvidia forms 37-member AI security alliance without OpenAI, Anthropic or Google9 minutes ago 3Securitize builds Wall Street credentials with SEC adviser license as tokenization expands35 minutes ago 4Crypto is rewriting how Wall Street traders spend their weekends35 minutes ago 5Circle buys nearly 1,000 blockchain patents from IBM48 minutes ago 6Michael Saylor's Strategy boosted cash reserve to $3.75 billion, repurchased $25 million of STRC1 hour ago 7Bitcoin options traders are dropping their hedges going into the Fed meeting1 hour ago 8Ballooning U.S. debt sends investors to bitcoin, gold to shelter from dollar devaluation2 hours ago 9Bitcoin ETFs post third straight weekly inflows despite $465 million in late-week losses2 hours ago 10Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong criticizes crypto startups that rebrand to AI2 hours ago

Crypto Flows, Share and the Selective Rotation

Crypto Flows, Share and the Selective Rotation

Markets repositioned since June, but Binance held share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and drew net inflows in early July while the tracked market saw outflows.

Markets repositioned since June, but Binance held share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and drew net inflows in early July while the tracked market saw outflows.

Why it matters:

Markets repositioned since June, but Binance held share (~55% user funds, ~24% spot) and drew net inflows in early July while the tracked market saw outflows.

Securitize builds Wall Street credentials with SEC adviser license as tokenization expands

Circle buys nearly 1,000 blockchain patents from IBM

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong criticizes crypto startups that rebrand to AI

Thailand's SEC alleges Bitkub concealed cyberattack that led to $50 million hack

Nvidia forms 37-member AI security alliance without OpenAI, Anthropic or Google

Securitize builds Wall Street credentials with SEC adviser license as tokenization expands