Ethereum Treasury firm Bitmine has acquired more ETH even as the company continues to double down on the altcoin amid this current market downtrend. This comes as Tom Lee said they will be buying the market here despite concerns about inflationary pressures from the U.S.-Iran war.
Bitmine Adds 40,000 ETH To Ethereum Treasury
In an X post, on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain cited Arkham data, stating that the firm appears to have bought another 40,000 ETH, worth $82 million, today. This marks the latest purchase by the largest Ethereum treasury firm and comes just after it announced another weekly purchase last week.
As CoinGape reported, Tom Lee’s Bitmine acquired 71,179 ETH last week, which brought its total holdings to over 4.7 million ETH. The company’s holdings represent almost 4% of the total Ethereum supply, bringing it close to its “Alchemy of 5%” goal to acquire 5% of the total supply.
The company continues to acquire more ETH despite currently sitting on an unrealized loss on its Ethereum investment. DropsTab shows that Tom Lee’s firm has an unrealized loss of almost $7.6 billion on its investment, with an average purchase price of $3,271 per ETH.
This unrealized loss on their Ethereum investment has weighed on the Bitmine stock, which is down over 30% year-to-date (YTD). However, the crypto stock climbed over 2% this past week, even as the U.S.-Iran war continues to put pressure on risk assets. This mirrors ETH’s gains this week, with the leading altcoin up over 3% in the past week.
Tom Lee Explains Why They Are Buying At These Levels
Bitmine’s Chairman, Tom Lee, said that they are buying the market at this current level even if the low is not in place. He explained that it is mainly because they believe that the U.S. economy can handle oil prices rising to even $120 per barrel due to the Iran war.
Lee noted that, when adjusted for CPI inflation, the current $106 oil price is lower than prior peaks, including the $144 level in July 2008. He added that inflation is up 53% since then. As such, oil would have been $220 today to match the 2008 high, inflation-adjusted.
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Foremost, when adjusted for inflation (CPI), the current $106 oil price is less than prior peaks– the ‘nominal’ $144 oil in July 2008
– inflation is up 53% since thenOil would have to be $220 today to match the 2008 high, inflation adjusted pic.twitter.com/QuxXCfZDWy
— Thomas (Tom) Lee (not drummer) FundstratDirect.com (@fundstrat) March 31, 2026
Lastly, the Bitmine chairman alluded to Bitcoin and Ethereum’s relative outperformance since the U.S.-Iran war started five weeks ago. It is worth noting that these crypto prices haven’t made new lows from their February 6 lows despite the war, which began on February 28.