Bitmine increased its Ethereum holdings by $120 million on Monday, a 20% increase over the previous week’s acquisition, according to the firm’s chair, Tom Lee. The move comes amid heightened geopolitical tensions stemming from the conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, and a surge in oil prices.
Lee stated that Bitmine’s strategy is to incrementally increase its Ethereum accumulation, acknowledging that identifying market bottoms is inherently difficult. “As the adage goes, nobody ‘rings the bell at the bottom’ and therefore Bitmine’s strategy is to now slightly increase its pace of Ethereum accumulation,” he said. Bitmine’s total Ethereum holdings now exceed $9 billion, with $6 billion staked, making it the largest Ether treasury globally. The firm has been on a weekly buying spree of $2.5 billion since October.
Despite Ethereum’s price remaining range-bound between $1,800 and $2,100, and the broader cryptocurrency market hovering near $2.4 trillion, Lee remains optimistic, predicting a future price of $250,000 per token. He noted the resilience of Ethereum prices this week, “in the face of rising war concerns and surging oil prices.” However, Ethereum is still down nearly 60% from its peak of $4,950 in August.
The current geopolitical instability has prompted a shift in investor preferences, with traders favoring assets like stocks, oil, precious metals, and currencies over cryptocurrencies. On Tuesday, oil prices fell to nearly $90 a barrel after reaching $119 on Monday.
Fundstrat’s head of research, Tom Lee, has publicly stated that rising oil prices are a positive signal for the U.S. Stock market. MarketWatch reported that Lee believes higher oil prices can benefit U.S. Stocks.
Bitmine’s increased Ethereum buying occurred despite Ethereum prices showing resilience in the face of rising war concerns and surging oil prices, according to Lee.
