Four more weeks at this pace takes Bitmine to 5% of Ethereum's supply

Five percent of a 122.1 million token supply is 6,105,000 ETH, and Bitmine holds 5,983,940 of them ^[2][3], so 121,060 are left to buy ^[1]. At the $2,688 reference price the company used, that remainder costs about $325m ^[2]. Cash and marketable securities cover it about 2.2 times over ^[3].

At last week's pace of 27,562 ETH, the gap closes in roughly four and a half weeks ^[4]. Measured against Bitmine's own record, that pace is slow: accumulating 5,983,940 ETH over the roughly 64 weeks since June 30, 2025 averages about 93,700 a week ^[5], so last week's buy came to 29% of the average ^[6].

The demand still to come from the world's largest corporate ETH holder ^[13] is therefore about $325m, set against a position already marked at $16.1bn ^[2][2].

The income is small next to the position. Staking works out to about $70 per staked ETH a year, or 2.6% at the $2,688 reference price ^[7], and 2.2% measured against the whole $16.1bn ^[8]. The bitcoin on the same balance sheet was worth roughly $18m at the weekend's $85,000 price, about 0.1% of the $17.1bn total ^[11].

Lee's fourth-quarter case rests on institutions being underweight. Decrypt reported that he called Ethereum the best-performing macro asset of the quarter, ahead of the S&P 500 by 6,519 basis points, and framed that as a "prelude" to a stronger move as those institutions add exposure ^[12]. Converted, 6,519 basis points is 65.19 percentage points of outperformance in three months ^[9]. Cryptobriefing reported that he expects the institutional surge in the closing months of 2026, as US regulatory frameworks take shape ^[18]. Decrypt disclosed that Lee is one of several investors in Dastan, its parent company ^[14].

If the institutional bid arrives, the gain comes from the mark on 4.9% of supply and the final $325m of buying barely moves price ^[3][2]. If it does not, Bitmine is a $16.1bn position earning 2.2% a year ^[2][8]. A third possibility is that the board raises the target above 5% and funds further buying out of staking revenue instead of the balance sheet. That would keep a weekly bid in the market without issuing stock.

Neither publisher reported Bitmine's share count or market value, so the premium or discount to net asset value cannot be computed from these disclosures ^[15]. The staking disclosure alone puts 4.15% of all ETH inside one company's programme ^[10].