BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), the world’s largest corporate Ethereum treasury holder, just scooped up another 33,504 ETH valued at $112 million from institutional trading desk FalconX.
This move, confirmed by on-chain intelligence firms like EmberCN and Arkham Intelligence, pushes BitMine’s total ETH stash to over 3.86 million tokens—now representing more than 3.2% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. The company is aggressively pursuing a 5% ownership target, backed by institutional heavyweights like ARK Invest and Pantera Capital.
Chairman Tom Lee also CIO at Fundstrat Global Advisors declared that Ethereum has likely bottomed out around $2,500, citing stabilizing market conditions post-October’s volatility, the upcoming Fusaka upgrade for better scalability, and anticipated Fed rate cuts ending quantitative tightening.
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Lee projects ETH could hit $7,000 by early 2026, doubling down on their “putting money where our mouth is” strategy. This latest buy comes hot on the heels of a $429 million ETH haul last week and a $199 million spree earlier this month, accelerating their accumulation pace by 156% week-over-week.
Despite this institutional conviction, the broader market remains jittery: U.S. spot ETH ETFs saw $116.7 million in outflows over the past two days, and “smart money” traders top performers tracked by Nansen hold $21 million in short positions betting on near-term dips.
BitMine’s $1 billion cash reserves suggest more buys ahead, potentially countering retail panic. BMNR stock surged past $40 on the news, reflecting trader optimism.
BitMine now holds ~3.2% of all circulating ETH and is on pace to own 5% within months. This is MicroStrategy-level treasury aggression, but for Ethereum. It sends a loud signal: at least one group with $1B+ cash and ARK/Pantera backing believes ETH is deeply undervalued at ~$3,300 and that $7K+ in 2026 is realistic.
Potential supply shock ahead
Every ETH BitMine removes from circulation is one less token available on exchanges. If they keep buying $100–400M chunks every week or two, exchange balances already at 2018 lows will drop sharply. That’s the exact setup that triggered the 2020–2021 bull run when corporate treasuries + staking lockups + EIP-1559 burn combined.
Spot ETH ETFs are bleeding while corporates load up. The contrast is stark: retail/traditional investors pulled $116M from BlackRock & Co. in the last 48 hours, while BitMine bought almost exactly that amount in a single OTC transaction. This divergence usually marks capitulation bottoms
Bubble Maps’ Time Node Exposes PEPE’s Shady Launch
In a bombshell revelation, blockchain analytics platform Bubble Maps used its “Time Travel” forensic tool to dissect PEPE’s April 2023 launch, uncovering that ~30% of the genesis supply was bundled across a single wallet cluster—directly contradicting the meme coin’s “stealth launch for the people” narrative with no presales or insider allocations.
This cluster dumped $2 million in PEPE tokens just one day after launch, injecting massive early sell pressure that reportedly capped the token’s potential at a $12 billion market cap milestone.
Bubble Maps’ visualization links the wallets via historical transaction patterns, highlighting coordinated control that fueled rug-pull suspicions. The tool, now a staple in memecoin due diligence, has previously flagged insider activity in projects like Melania and fake Eric Trump tokens.
PEPE, which has shed 81% from its all-time high over the past year, was marketed as a fair, community-driven play—but this data suggests investors were “lied to,” per Bubble Maps’ X post.
The exposure comes amid rising scrutiny on memecoin transparency, with tools like Time Node enabling retroactive audits to spot bundles and prevent scams.
While some PEPE holders struck gold like one trader flipped $2K into $43M, cashing $10M profit despite the crash, the bundled supply raises red flags on long-term trust. Bubble Maps’ own token (BMT) dipped 5.8% today to $0.02475, but trading volume spiked 4.6% on the buzz.
These stories underscore crypto’s split reality: institutional bets on ETH’s fundamentals vs. memecoin origins under the microscope. What’s your take—bullish on ETH’s rebound, or dodging PEPE drama?