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BitMine adds $90 million in ETH — Tom Lee says crypto sentiment reminiscent of 2018 and 2022 bottoms

2026/02/17 22:10
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BitMine adds $90 million in ETH — Tom Lee says crypto sentiment reminiscent of 2018 and 2022 bottoms

The Ethereum treasury firm continues its buying spree with its largest weekly ETH purchase in token terms this year.

By Krisztian Sandor|Edited by Stephen Alpher
Feb 17, 2026, 2:10 p.m.
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Thomas Lee, chairman of BitMine and CIO of Fundstrat, on the main stage during Consensus Hong Kong 2026 (David Paul Morris/Consensus, modified by CoinDesk)

What to know:

  • BitMine purchased 45,759 ether (ETH) last week, lifting total holdings to 4.37 million tokens.
  • The firm now has 3 million ETH staked, generating $176M in annualized rewards.
  • Chairman Tom Lee said the current sentiment in crypto markets reminded him of the lows seen in 2018 and 2022.

BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), the largest Ethereum treasury company, purchased 45,759 ether ETH$1,990.87 last week, extending its buying spree despite the sharp pullback in crypto prices.

The haul was the largest weekly purchase this year in token terms, bringing the firm's total ETH holdings to 4,371,497 tokens, the company said in a Monday update. That's equivalent to $8.7 billion at current prices, while the company is estimated to be sitting on almost $8 billion in paper losses.

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The firm also raised its cash pile to $670 million, alongside its small bitcoin BTC$67,126.47 stash and equity stakes, including a $200 million position in Beast Industries. Total assets stand at $9.6 billion, while BitMine’s share of ETH’s total supply rose to 3.62%.

BitMine has now staked over 3 million ETH — about 69% of its holdings — that generate $176 million in annualized rewards, according to Chairman Tom Lee. The firm’s staking operations currently yield 2.89% annualized.

Lee said sentiment in crypto markets remains depressed, drawing comparisons to the lows of 2018 and 2022. But he argued the current environment differs in that there have been no major collapses of large players.

"Investor sentiment and enthusiasm are rock bottom, reminding us of the forlornness and dejection seen at the November 2022 lows and depths of 2018 crypto winter," he said. "Rather, it seems like crypto has remained weak since the 'price shock' and massive deleveraging seen on October 10th."

Lee also highlighted developments from last week’s Consensus Hong Kong conference, where he cited tokenization, artificial intelligence (AI) integrations and proof-of-humanity infrastructure as long-term growth drivers for Ethereum.

"The price of ETH is not reflective of the high utility of ETH and its role as the future of finance," Lee said. "Hence, we continue to buy ETH even as crypto moves through this 'mini-winter.'"

Read more: Tom Lee says stop timing the bottom and start buying the dip

BitmineEthereum NewsEthereum Treasury

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Banking giant Intesa Sanapolo discloses $100 million bitcoin ETF holdings, along with Strategy hedge

The bank also holds a large put option position on Strategy, potentially capitalizing on the company trading above the value of its BTC holdings.

What to know:

  • Intesa Sanpaolo disclosed $96 million in bitcoin ETF holdings, including ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and iShares Bitcoin Trust.
  • The bank also holds a large put option position on Strategy, potentially capitalizing on the company trading above the value of its BTC holdings.
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