Ethereum is struggling below $1,700 as selling pressure and market uncertainty continue to define the short-term price structure. The asset has lost significant ground from the levels that briefly offered hope of a sustained recovery — but data from Arkham Intelligence has revealed an institutional development that reframes what is happening beneath the surface of the current weakness in a way that demands attention.
Bitmine — the Ethereum treasury company founded by prominent investor Tom Lee, whose bullish macro calls and institutional credibility have made him one of the most closely watched voices in traditional finance’s engagement with crypto — has just announced purchases totaling $213.57 million in Ethereum. The acquisition brings Bitmine’s total ETH holdings to 4.59% of the entire circulating supply.
BitMine Move Info | Source: Arkham
That figure requires a moment to absorb. A single entity controlling 4.59% of Ethereum’s total supply represents one of the most concentrated institutional positions in the asset’s history. At current prices, the position is significant not only in dollar terms but in its structural implications for the available float — ETH committed to Bitmine’s treasury strategy is ETH that is not available for immediate sale on the open market.
Tom Lee’s firm is not reducing exposure into Ethereum’s weakness. It is announcing a $213 million purchase during it — expressing a directional conviction about where the asset goes from here that the current price below $1,700 has not diminished.
9.32 Billion in Ethereum and Still Buying
The Arkham data reveals the full scale of what Bitmine has already built — and the specific destination the accumulation strategy is moving toward. The company currently holds approximately $9.32 billion worth of Ethereum, representing 4.59% of the circulating supply. The position is already one of the largest single-entity Ethereum holdings ever documented on-chain.
But the accumulation is not complete. To reach the 5% threshold that appears to represent Bitmine’s near-term strategic target, the company needs to purchase an additional $819.86 million in Ethereum at current prices.
That figure is the most significant forward signal in the Arkham data. An institutional buyer with an identified, quantifiable purchase requirement of nearly $820 million represents a specific and predictable demand source that the market will need to price in regardless of current sentiment. Bitmine is not buying opportunistically based on daily price movements. It is executing against a declared strategic objective — and the distance between the current 4.59% and the 5% target defines exactly how much additional buying remains ahead.
For Ethereum struggling below $1,700 under selling pressure, the existence of a single buyer with $819 million still to deploy at current or lower prices creates a structural demand floor that most market participants have not yet fully incorporated into their assessment of where genuine support exists.
Ethereum Breaks Multi-Year Support
Ethereum remains under intense pressure on the weekly timeframe after collapsing below the critical $1,800-$1,900 support zone that had contained price throughout much of 2026. The breakdown confirms a major shift in market structure, with ETH now trading near $1,670 after reaching lows around $1,500 during the recent sell-off. More importantly, the failed recovery attempt from the March lows has produced a lower high near $2,350, reinforcing the broader bearish trend that has been developing since the 2025 peak above $4,800.
Ethereum setting fresh yearly lows | Source: ETHUSDT chart on TradingView
The technical damage is significant. ETH has now fallen below its 50-week, 100-week, and 200-week moving averages, leaving all major trend indicators positioned above current price action. The 200-week moving average near $2,450 has once again rejected price, while the 50-week and 100-week averages continue trending lower, confirming deteriorating momentum across multiple timeframes.
From a market structure perspective, the recent breakdown has erased the entire March-May recovery and pushed Ethereum back toward levels last seen during the first-quarter capitulation. Volume expanded sharply during the decline, suggesting the move was driven by aggressive distribution rather than ordinary profit-taking.
Bulls are attempting to stabilize above the $1,500-$1,600 region, but reclaiming the lost $1,800 support zone remains the first requirement before any meaningful recovery can begin. Until then, rallies are likely to face heavy selling pressure as bears maintain control of the trend.
Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
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