Bitmine is approaching the end of its ether accumulation campaign after chairman Tom Lee said the company will stop purchasing ETH once its holdings reach 5% of the cryptocurrency’s circulating supply.

The decision could remove a significant and consistent source of demand from the ether market. Bitmine began its Ethereum treasury strategy in mid-2025 and has since built the world’s largest corporate ETH treasury.

Lee announced the plan Wednesday at TOKEN2049 in Singapore, saying Bitmine needs to acquire only another 100,000 ETH to reach its 5% target before ending the buying program.

Bitmine said Monday that it added another $41 million in ETH to its holdings last week. Its total balance now stands at 6,016,414 ETH, equivalent to about 4.9% of the 122.1 million tokens currently in circulation. At an ETH price of roughly $2,580 on Wednesday, the holdings were valued at around $15.5 billion.

The company’s accumulation has progressed much faster than originally anticipated. Lee said Bitmine initially expected the strategy to take five years but reached its current position in just over a year, despite accumulating during a bear market.

Based on last week’s purchase rate, Bitmine could need another six to seven weeks to buy the remaining 100,000 ETH, assuming its accumulation pace remains unchanged.

Bitmine reported $643 million in cash and marketable securities in its latest update. At current prices, that is more than twice the amount required to acquire the remaining ETH needed to reach 5%.

Bitmine’s Buying Streak

The potential end of the strategy is notable given Bitmine’s consistent purchasing activity. The company says it has bought ETH every week since launching its treasury strategy in June 2025.

But the majority of its accumulation occurred during last year’s crypto bull market, when ether traded at higher prices. DropsTab data estimates that Bitmine’s ETH position currently has about $4.5 billion in unrealized losses.

Ether was already under pressure Wednesday as the broader crypto market weakened. ETH dropped 5% over 24 hours to its lowest level since Sept. 20, falling almost twice as much as bitcoin.