Bitmine's Ethereum Treasury Moves Closer to 5% of Supply
Bitmine Immersion Technologies has brought its Ethereum accumulation strategy close to its stated goal of owning 5% of ETH's total supply. The company announced on November 2 that it acquired another 8,573 ETH over the previous week, increasing its holdings to 6,060,506 ETH.
The position represents approximately 4.9% of Ethereum's reported circulating supply of 122.2 million ETH. Bitmine described itself as 99% of the way toward its 5% target, which it has called the “Alchemy of 5%.” The company said it has purchased ETH every week since launching its treasury strategy in June 2025.
In its November 2 company announcement, Bitmine valued its ETH holdings at approximately $13.7 billion, using an ETH price of $2,261 as of November 1 at 4:00 p.m. ET. The company has previously said it intends to stop accumulating once it reaches the 5% threshold.
Bitmine Reports $14.5 Billion in Combined Holdings
Bitmine's total reported holdings reached $14.5 billion as of November 1. The figure includes its Ethereum and Bitcoin positions, cash and marketable securities, and investments the company classifies as “moonshots.”
Alongside its 6,060,506 ETH, Bitmine reported holding 216 BTC, valued at approximately $16.8 million in the supplied figures. Its other investments included a $180 million stake in Beast Industries and an $82 million stake in Eightco Holdings. Cash and marketable securities totaled $498 million.
The company also disclosed that 5,227,037 ETH, representing approximately 86% of its Ethereum treasury, was staked. Bitmine estimated that this position could generate about $358 million in annualized revenue at prevailing yields. If the company staked its entire ETH holdings, it projected annualized revenue could rise to approximately $415 million. These are company estimates, not guaranteed returns, and actual staking income can change with network yields and operating conditions.
Tom Lee Says Crypto Market Response to Binance Hack Was Limited
Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee also addressed last week's $6.3 billion Binance security breach in the company's announcement. Lee acknowledged the seriousness of the incident but argued that the relatively restrained market response was encouraging.
“While this is a terrible development, in my view, the relatively muted crypto market reaction is very constructive, particularly compared to the market’s response to prior sizable crypto thefts,” Lee said.
Lee compared Ethereum's roughly 4% decline following the Binance incident with its performance after the February 2025 Bybit hack. That attack involved approximately $1.5 billion in stolen assets, mostly ETH and related tokens. Lee said ETH fell 8% on the day the Bybit theft was announced and lost 20% over the following week.
The comparison reflects Lee's assessment of market behavior; the two figures cover different measurement periods. His interpretation should therefore be understood as the company's chairman's view, rather than proof that the latest breach had a limited overall impact.
Six Factors Behind Lee's Resilience Argument
Lee outlined six reasons he believes the crypto market response to the Binance breach was more contained than the reaction to previous major thefts. First, he pointed to Binance's financial capacity to cover customer losses. Second, he said the incident did not trigger a cascade of decentralized finance protocol failures like those seen after the Bybit attack.
His other explanations included rapid action by industry participants to freeze stolen stablecoins and assets held by centralized platforms, which he said cut potential losses by 50%; the FBI's identification of North Korea as the responsible party within two days; and the fact that the attack involved compromised corporate infrastructure rather than an underlying blockchain vulnerability.
Lee's sixth point was the market's relatively limited price decline itself, which he interpreted as a sign that a crypto bull market remained underway. These explanations represent his assessment of the incident and its market impact.
Binance Asset Outflows and Bitmine's Share Buybacks
Despite Lee's interpretation, the breach has affected activity around Binance. Figures cited in the supplied material show that the value of assets tracked on the exchange declined from approximately $144.9 billion on October 29 to $128.3 billion by November 2, a reduction of about $16.6 billion. That change includes the effects of cryptocurrency price movements and stolen funds, and should not be treated as a measure of customer withdrawals alone.
Binance has been restoring withdrawals in phases following the incident. The exchange also indicated that an updated proof-of-reserves report was expected on Tuesday, November 3. Users can follow updates through Binance's official announcement center.
Bitmine has also been repurchasing its own shares while expanding its ETH treasury. The supplied material says the company spent approximately $399.6 million buying back 22.9 million shares during 2026. Management has presented the repurchases as a response to its view that the company's stock is undervalued relative to its underlying assets.
Bitmine remains the largest publicly traded corporate holder of ETH and the second-largest publicly traded corporate crypto treasury overall, behind Bitcoin-focused Strategy. Its latest purchase puts it close to the 5% Ethereum supply objective, while its staking position and share repurchases remain additional parts of its treasury strategy.
