As ETH drops below $2,200, aggressively buying up! Bitmine snaps up 71,672 coins, with its holdings surpassing 5.28 million coins—pushing toward 5% of the total supply.

Cryptocurrency Treasury Company Bitmine Immersion Technologies Chairman Tom Lee stated that the company took advantage of Ethereum (ETH) falling below $2,200, adding 71,672 ETH within a week, with total holdings surpassing 5.28 million ETH, just one step away from the "alchemy" goal of holding 5% of the total circulating supply.
(Background summary: Bitmine re-staked 75.6k ETH! Total holdings approaching 5 million ETH, sweeping 4.12% of the entire network supply)
(Additional background: BitMine continues to buy despite a $6.6 billion unrealized loss! Tom Lee: Not selling isn’t a loss, total holdings break 4.3 million ETH)

Table of Contents

* Bitmine accelerates again after slowing down, ETH holding curve remains steep
* Old whale re-enters the battlefield, market shows bottom-fishing consensus
* Is oil price the key variable? Tom Lee analyzes ETH macro pressure
* Institutional forecasts diverge: Citigroup conservatively sees $3,175, Standard Chartered predicts $7,500

Cryptocurrency Treasury company Bitmine Immersion Technologies continues to demonstrate its "buy-only" ETH accumulation strategy. Chairman Tom Lee announced via press release on Monday (5/18) that over the past week, taking advantage of Ethereum’s price dropping below $2,200, Bitmine bought an additional 71,672 ETH, with total holdings officially surpassing 5.28 million ETH.

Lee stated: "We see the recent dip of ETH below $2,200 as an attractive entry point. Bitmine plans to reach the milestone of holding 5% of ETH’s total supply by 2026." As of press time, ETH has fluctuated between $2,081 and $2,341 over the past seven trading days, currently around $2,128, down approximately 8.7% for the week.

### Bitmine accelerates again after slowing down, ETH holding curve remains steep

This purchase is particularly noteworthy for its change in pace. Previously, during the week of May 4 to 11, Bitmine bought only 26,659 ETH, ending a three-week streak of weekly purchases exceeding 100k ETH, which had sparked speculation about weakening buying momentum or a strategic shift. However, this week’s purchase of 71,672 ETH indicates that Bitmine has not slowed its long-term accumulation, but is waiting for a better entry point.

Bitmine’s business model is often compared to the "Michael Saylor of Ethereum"—imitating Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy)’s Bitcoin treasury strategy, by issuing convertible bonds or equity financing, continuously converting funds into ETH holdings to accumulate digital assets as core reserves. As of the latest data, Bitmine’s holdings have reached about 4.37% of Ethereum’s total circulating supply (approximately 120.7 million ETH), just shy of the 5% target by about 760k ETH. At current prices, this requires roughly $1.6 billion in capital.

### Old whale re-enters the battlefield, market shows bottom-fishing consensus

It’s worth noting that on-chain data also shows other large holders entering the market simultaneously. Blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain posted on X (Twitter) on Saturday (5/16) that an "OG" whale, who bought ETH over ten years ago and fully sold out a year ago, has recently started buying again. This address purchased 1,951 ETH at an average price of $2,182, and Lookonchain speculates "he may continue buying."

From institutional-level large buys by Bitmine to retail-level re-accumulation by old whales, the market seems to be forming a bottom consensus around $2,100. However, since ETH hit a high of $4,946 in August 2025, with a decline of about 57%, whether a true bottom has been formed still depends on macro variables.

### Oil prices as a key variable? Tom Lee analyzes ETH macro pressure

In another speech on the same day, Tom Lee mentioned that since the beginning of the year, rising Middle East tensions have driven international oil prices higher, continuously weighing on ETH’s price. He predicts that once oil prices reverse, ETH could see a significant recovery. This view anchors crypto valuation to traditional macro factors—energy prices and geopolitical risks—highlighting that ETH is currently in a "macro-driven" trading environment.

From the perspective of Taiwanese investors, the correlation between oil prices and ETH has been less discussed. If progress is made in Middle East ceasefire negotiations (recently Iran claimed Lebanon and Israel would cease fire for a week, but Israel denied it), a drop in crude oil prices could provide additional upward momentum for ETH.

### Institutional forecasts diverge: Citigroup conservatively sees $3,175, Standard Chartered predicts $7,500

Looking ahead, Wall Street institutions’ outlooks on ETH show clear divergence. Citigroup released a report in March predicting a 12-month target price of $3,175 (base case), which could reach $4,488 in a bullish scenario driven by stablecoins and tokenized assets adoption.

A more conservative market forecast from CoinGecko indicates a 48% chance ETH will close the year at $1,500, and only a 25% chance it will reach $3,500—implying the market believes ETH is more likely to continue consolidating rather than rebounding strongly in the short term.

However, HSBC’s subsidiary Standard Chartered adopts an extremely optimistic stance. In a January report, digital asset research head Geoffrey Kendrick stated that due to the continued proliferation of blockchain applications and on-chain products, ETH could reach $7,500 by year-end. If this prediction materializes, Bitmine’s current holdings of over 5.28 million ETH would correspond to a market cap exceeding $39.6 billion—more than tripling the value of its current holdings.