Bitmine Reaches 77% of Ethereum Reserve Goal; Tom Lee Says 'Crypto Winter' Nearing an End

Bitmine Immersion Technologies has kept up an aggressive buying pace over the past three weeks, a sign its base-case view that ETH's extended downturn is close to ending, according to Cointelegraph citing chairman Tom Lee. Lee pointed to progress on the CLARITY Act in Congress and the crypto market's relative steadiness during escalating Iran-related geopolitical tensions as evidence the market is entering a 'thawing winter.' Lee said that since hostilities broke out in Iran, ETH has gained about 18%, beating equities by roughly 2,450 basis points, while gold has fallen more than 15%, which he argued highlights crypto's 'wartime' store-of-value traits. Bitmine disclosed it bought an additional 65,341 ETH last week for about $139 million, lifting total holdings to more than 4.6 million ETH. That equals roughly 3.86% of the current circulating supply of 120.6 million ETH, putting the company at about 77% of its target of holding 5% of circulating supply.