Ethereum treasury giant BitMine purchases another $150 million in ETH; Tom Lee: ETH could challenge $9,000

Ethereum treasury giant BitMine has once again made a significant increase in its ETH holdings, attracting market attention. According to on-chain analytics platform Arkham, BitMine purchased 18,345 ETH through BitGo on Wednesday and another 30,278 ETH via a certain CEX, with a total value of approximately $150 million. Although the transaction has yet to receive official confirmation, on-chain evidence shows that the funds have essentially been transferred.

Since the beginning of this year, BitMine has maintained a steady buying pace, even during the market slump in November, without any significant reduction. In just the last week of November, the company increased its holdings by 96,798 ETH, bringing its share of Ethereum’s circulating supply to over 3%. The company has repeatedly stated its goal to hold 5% of ETH and continues to emphasize Ethereum’s core role in the future financial infrastructure.

In stark contrast to BitMine’s continued buying strength is the overall weakening institutional demand for ETH. According to the latest data from Bitwise, digital asset funds (DAT) purchased only about 370,000 ETH in November, a sharp 81% drop compared to the August peak of 1.97 million. This trend indicates that some institutions are undergoing a reallocation phase, with short-term systemic willingness to increase ETH holdings declining.

Nevertheless, Fundstrat co-founder and BitMine leader Tom Lee continues to maintain his bullish outlook. He points out that Ethereum has recently seen several positive catalysts, including this week’s Fusaka upgrade. Additionally, the Federal Reserve’s gradual end to quantitative tightening is also considered a key factor driving renewed demand for ETH.

In an interview, Lee further predicted that ETH prices will rise to the $7,000 to $9,000 range by January 2026. Currently, ETH is quoted at $3,215, up 5.7% in the past 24 hours, indicating a gradual improvement in market sentiment.

BitMine-related stocks also benefited, closing up 5.48% on Wednesday to $33.66. However, over a longer period, the stock price is still down more than 21% over the past month, reflecting overall pressure in the institutional sector.

This substantial increase in holdings shows that leading treasuries remain firmly optimistic about ETH’s long-term value, while cooling overall institutional demand introduces short-term variables. The performance of the ETH market in the coming weeks will be a key signal to determine whether institutional divergence will widen or narrow. (The Block)