Bitmine Buys $103M in ETH, Hits New Staking Milestone

Key Insights:

• Bitmine makes Ethereum news headlines with a fresh purchase of 45,000 ETH. It now has over $9 billion in staked ETH.
• Galaxy Digital offloads 45,000 ETH.
• Ethereum ETFs sold $72 million in ETH in the last 2 days.

Tom Lee’s Bitmine has reportedly just made another major ETH purchase. The company, which has been building a reputation as the MicroStrategy of Ethereum, has been on an aggressive buying spree this year.

Bitmine reportedly acquired 45,000 ETH worth roughly $103 million in the last 24 hours (29 April). The purchases took place on BitGo and FalconX.

Bitmine now holds just over 5 million ETH, which is roughly 4.2% of the cryptocurrency’s total supply. This aggressive accumulation has taken place over less than 12 months since the company started buying ETH at the end of July last year.

This aggressive move has not only sparked interest among crypto observers and analysts but also ignited interest in the company’s plan. However, to understand what the plan is all about, we must first look at what Bitmine has been doing with the ETH it acquired.

Bitmine Stakes ETH Worth Over $9 Billion

Bitmine’s latest staked amount was even more impressive than the aforementioned ETH acquisition. According to Lookonchain, the company just staked 106,200 ETH worth roughly $244 million.

According to Arkham, Bitmine now has over 3.9 million ETH staked. This was more than $8.4 billion worth of cryptocurrency at press time.

Bitmine now has the largest share of staked ETH on the Ethereum network at 9.5%. This move will allow the company not only to benefit from robust passive yields but also to secure substantial long-term capital gains.

Aggressive demand from the likes of Bitmine has been fuelling bullish Ethereum price action since the start of April. The cryptocurrency traded at $2,324 at press time, representing a 19% gain over the last 4 weeks.

Bullish ETH price action in April appeared to be forming another swing high. The cryptocurrency has been maintaining an overall weekly downtrend since August.

Surging demand from whales and institutional players has been contributing to the bullish momentum. However, the market remains uncertain about ETH’s ability to sustain its current momentum.

Institutions Might Be Taking Profits

Despite this aggressive purchase this month, ETH price has been facing significant sell pressure this week. There were multiple reasons why. For example, FOMC data this week may trigger more downside. This was likely one of the reasons crypto holders have been locking in profits this week, which has led to lower demand.

Consequently, the ETH price was already down by roughly 5% from its April high. Unsurprisingly, institutions were among the key contributors to that sell pressure.

BSCN reported that whales were taking profits by selling large amounts of ETH. Galaxy Digital notably sold 45,000 ETH, which was roughly the same amount that Bitmine purchased. This means Bitmine absorbed some of the sell pressure, which is why Ethereum price still managed to stick its neck above $2,300.

Ethereum ETFs have also been offloading some holdings this week, a move consistent with profit-taking. However, the amount sold remained relatively low, suggesting a preference for exposure.

Ethereum ETFs sold roughly $72 million worth of ETH on Monday and Tuesday. BlackRock and Fidelity were the only companies selling ETH.

In conclusion, short-term ETH price sell pressure is to be expected, especially during periods of elevated uncertainty. However, Bitmine represents long-term conviction, and its latest purchase and staking activities send a strong message to the market.