Bitmine Immersion Technologies has extended its Ether buying streak into its fifth week, scooping up 71,179 Ether in its largest weekly purchase of 2026 so far.
The roughly $147 million Ether (ETH) buy represents a jump from Bitmine’s previous weekly average of $93 million to $103 million, the company said in a statement on Monday.
Last week, Lee said Ether is in the final stages of the mini-crypto winter and said this was a key reason the company has been maintaining its aggressive Ether buying over the past few weeks. Across its previous four purchases, Bitmine bought up a total of 238,244 Ether.
“Bitmine has maintained the increased pace of ETH buys in each of the past four weeks, as our base case is ETH is in the final stages of the ‘mini-crypto winter,’” Lee said Monday.
Crypto markets have continued to see volatility since its crash in October. There have also been signs of slowing momentum from institutional investors, with crypto exchange-traded product inflows diminishing amid ongoing Middle East tensions.
However, Lee said there could be light at the end of the tunnel for the crypto markets once risks in oil markets start to come down.
“The inverse correlation of crypto and equities to oil has been increasing and is at the highest levels in the past year,” Lee said.
“This is logical. Until equity markets become comfortable with the future trajectory of oil prices, rising oil is a headwind for equities and crypto. And in a sense, the crypto winter likely ends when the upside risk to oil prices peaks,” he added.
Bitmine’s closest peers remain silent on ETH buys
StrategicEthReserve currently tracks 67 large Ether treasury holders, with Bitmine leading by a wide margin. SharpLink Gaming sits second with 863,000 Ether, while Ether Machine ranks third with 496,000 tokens.
Among the top three Ether treasury companies, Bitmine is the only one to have publicly disclosed purchases this year.
SharpLink Gaming last purchased 3,600 Ether in December, while Ether Machine has not bought since acquiring 1,400 Ether in October, according to StrategicEthReserve.
Strategy buys 45,000 Bitcoin in 30 days
A similar trend is playing out among Bitcoin treasuries, according to CryptoQuant.
On Wednesday, Cryptoquant analysts said Michael Saylor’s Strategy has been the near sole driver of Bitcoin (BTC) treasury demand over the last 30 days.
Bitcoin purchases from non-Strategy firms amounted to around 1,000 BTC over the past 30 days, down 99% from peak levels, while Strategy bought 45,000 BTC over the same timeframe.
Related: Bitmine launches institutional Ethereum staking platform
Michael Saylor’s Strategy remains the number one public crypto treasury company, with reported holdings of 762,099 Bitcoin as of Sunday, worth more than $51 billion.
The company however recently paused its regular buys, with Saylor reporting no purchases to the US Securities and Exchange Commission between March 23 and March 29.
Magazine: Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF undercuts BlackRock, SBF pardon unlikely: Hodler’s Digest, Mar. 22 – 28
