BitMine has nearly reached its Ethereum accumulation goal and plans to slow down its purchases. This was announced by Chairman Tom Lee at the Consensus 2026 conference in Miami, according to CoinDesk.
The company holds over 5.1 million ETH valued at $11.9 billion. Initially, BitMine aimed to accumulate 5% of the total supply of the asset over five years. A year into its strategy, the company controls 4.29% of the issuance.
At the current rate of 100,000 ETH per week, the goal will be reached in about a month and a half, which is why management is discussing a slowdown in purchases.
BitMine is one of the few large companies that continued to buy cryptocurrency during the market correction. In contrast, Strategy allowed for the sale of bitcoins to pay dividends.
Lee emphasized that BitMine remains profitable through staking and cash generation. About 85% of the company's assets are locked in protocols, generating over $300 million in annual revenue, or approximately $111 million daily. This allows the firm to avoid selling coins during periods of high volatility.
The freed-up capital will be directed towards a stock buyback of $444 billion and the development of the institutional platform MAVAN. The service currently manages assets worth $14 billion in ETH, Solana, and Canton.
Additionally, BitMine is investing in projects at the intersection of AI and consumer platforms, including Eightco Holdings and Beast Industries. Lee believes Ethereum will benefit from tokenization of financial assets and the development of AI systems.
Ethereum at $60,000
Just two days earlier, speaking at Paris Blockchain Week, Lee declared the end of the bear trend. He believes the current downturn was a "mini-crypto winter," and the stock market has already hit bottom.
Lee called Ethereum the most profitable asset since the onset of the Middle Eastern crisis, outperforming the energy sector and the S&P 500 by nearly 20%.
The analyst forecasted the altcoin's price to rise to $12,000 in the near term and reach $60,000 by 2028. His optimism is based on two factors: mass tokenization of assets and the advancement of AI systems.
According to BitMine's chairman, blockchains will become the settlement base for AI agents, as neural networks find it easier to use cryptocurrencies for micropayments instead of traditional banking systems.
As a reminder, on May 1, the Ethereum Foundation completed its third OTC sale of Ether to BitMine. The firm acquired 10,000 ETH at an average price of $2,292.