BitMine Buys $173M Ether Amid Liquidity Squeeze, Tom Lee Says
BitMine Immersion Technologies acquired over 54,000 Ether (ETH) last week, spending approximately $173 million and bringing its total holdings to nearly 3.6 million ETH, or about 3% of the circulating supply. The digital‐asset treasury also boosted its cash reserves from $398 million to $607 million. BitMine’s shares fell 2.6% to their weakest level since August amid a broader crypto liquidity squeeze. Chairman Thomas Lee of Fundstrat and BitMine attributed the downturn to market makers pulling back after the October 10 crash, likening the effect to a ‘quantitative tightening’ for crypto. Despite the short‐term weakness, Lee argued the crypto cycle hasn’t peaked yet and predicted that structural drivers—especially asset tokenization of stocks, bonds and real estate on Ethereum—could push the cycle top into 2026 or later. Traders should watch liquidity indicators and Ethereum’s tokenization trends for potential buying opportunities.
Bullish
BitMine’s large Ether purchase underscores institutional confidence in Ethereum and suggests accumulation during a temporary liquidity drought. Tom Lee’s assessment that the crypto cycle has not yet peaked, combined with the anticipated growth of asset tokenization on Ethereum, supports a bullish outlook. Historically, episodes of reduced liquidity and quantitative tightening in crypto have been followed by strong rebounds. In the short term, traders may face volatility as market makers restore liquidity, but the mid- to long-term indicators point to renewed upward momentum in Ether and broader digital assets.