Strategy and Bitmine halt crypto buys; smaller firms add $1.67B BTC
Corporate crypto treasury flows are shifting. Data cited by AMBCrypto shows that Michael Saylor’s Strategy and Tom Lee’s Bitmine both chose to pause purchases—i.e., “halt all crypto buys”—last week. Strategy did not add new Bitcoin, leaving its holdings at 843,738 BTC (about $63.87B) after the last buy on May 18. Bitmine also “halt all crypto buys,” not adding Ethereum (ETH), while its ETH balance still rose to 5,278,462 ETH (about $11.06B).
With these two major DATs (digital asset treasuries) on the sidelines, four public firms stepped in and bought 612 BTC for roughly $47.5M. The firms were Hyperscale Data, DDC Enterprise Limited, Strive, and The Smarter Web Company PLC. Strive added about 382 BTC (total 15,391 BTC, ~$1.2B). The Smarter Web Company PLC held 2,859 BTC (~$312.15M). DDC Enterprise Limited increased to 2,583 BTC by adding ~200 BTC. Hyperscale Data reached 692 BTC (about $53M). Together, these four firms held 21,525 BTC as of May 25, worth ~$1.67B.
Market conditions also look mixed. BTC traded around $76,675 and fell ~0.85% daily; ETH traded near $2,096 and fell ~0.87%. ETF flows were negative, with BTC ETFs and ETH ETFs seeing outflows of about $1.257B and $216M over the week. Despite price volatility and a bearish tape, funding stayed firmly positive on CoinGlass, suggesting leverage longs were crowded while spot demand lagged.
Overall, the article frames the “halt all crypto buys” pause by top DATs as part of market maturation rather than overheating, while smaller buyers accumulate BTC.
Neutral
The main signal is a rotation in who is buying: Strategy and Bitmine paused purchases, but four smaller public firms collectively added ~$1.67B worth of BTC. That dampens immediate “demand shock” from the largest treasuries, but it does not remove overall bid support because the missing volume appears to be partially replaced by other corporate buyers.
At the same time, trader conditions look fragile. BTC/ETH were down on the day, ETF outflows were large, and despite positive funding (crowded longs), spot demand was not strong enough to validate futures optimism—this combination historically increases the risk of sharp pullbacks if leverage unwinds.
In the short term, traders may react to the halt by top DATs and the ETF outflow streak with caution, keeping volatility elevated. In the longer term, the article’s framing—“market maturing rather than overheating” and DATs finding their footing—suggests a more sustainable accumulation cycle, where price may trend with slower, steadier corporate flows rather than sudden spikes. Similar “pause-and-accumulate by different players” episodes typically lead to consolidation before the next directional move.