BitMine Immersion Technologies is buying Ethereum through a historic drawdown, adding nearly $238 million worth of ETH in a single week despite sitting on billions in unrealized losses, while
BitMine Immersion Technologies is buying Ethereum through a historic drawdown, adding nearly $238 million worth of ETH in a single week despite sitting on billions in unrealized losses, while Strategy simultaneously slashed $1.5 billion in convertible debt without selling a single Bitcoin.
BitMine (NYSE: BMNR) purchased 111,942 ETH in the week ending May 25, 2026, at an average price of roughly $2,134 per token. The acquisition brings BitMine's total Ethereum holdings to 5,390,404 ETH, representing 4.47% of Ethereum's total circulating supply of 120.7 million tokens.
The purchase is striking given BitMine's average cost basis of approximately $3,821 per ETH. At current prices, that gap translates to a roughly 46% discount to what the company paid on average. When Ethereum fell below $2,000 in February 2026, BitMine's unrealized losses on its then-smaller stack of roughly 4.29 million ETH exceeded $8 billion.
Ethereum (ETH) — Current Price
▼ 2.1% (24h)
BitMine Avg. Cost Basis
~$3,821
Discount to Cost Basis
-46%
BitMine ETH Holdings
5.39M ETH
Source: CoinGecko · May 26, 2026
ETH traded at $2,080 on May 26, down 2.1% over 24 hours and 57.9% below its August 2025 all-time high of $4,946. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index sat at 34, firmly in "Fear" territory.
Chairman Tom Lee framed the continued buying as a strategic conviction call:
"We continue to expect a supercycle ahead for crypto and Ethereum, driven by the dual drivers of Wall Street tokenization and agentic-AI."
— Tom Lee, BitMine Chairman
Lee added that ETH remains attractive below $2,200. The company is pursuing what it calls the "Alchemy of 5%" goal, targeting ownership of 5% of all circulating ETH. At 4.47%, BitMine is roughly 89% of the way there.
BitMine's staking operation provides a structural buffer enabling continued accumulation. The company has 4,712,917 ETH actively staked, roughly 87% of its total holdings, generating $276 million in annualized staking revenue. Total crypto and cash holdings stand at $12.3 billion.
On the same day, Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) announced it had retired $1.5 billion of its 2029 convertible notes at an 8% discount, paying approximately $1.38 billion in cash. The move reduces Strategy's total convertible debt from $8.2 billion to $6.7 billion.
Critically, Strategy did not sell any Bitcoin to fund the repurchase. The company's holdings remain at 843,738 BTC, with an average purchase price of roughly $75,700 per coin. As long-term Bitcoin holders continue to dominate on-chain activity, Strategy's refusal to sell reinforces that pattern at the institutional level.
Strategy CEO Phong Le addressed the move directly:
"We said we would proactively manage our convertible debt and use the full range of capital management tools available to us. We retired $1.5 billion of convertible debt for $1.38 billion in cash."
— Phong Le, Strategy CEO
The debt reduction added 0.7 percentage points to Strategy's year-to-date BTC yield, bringing it to 13.3%. That figure represents approximately 89,378 BTC gained, or roughly $6.8 billion in value created through what Strategy frames as a treasury-first capital strategy.
BitMine and Strategy are pursuing different assets but operating from the same playbook: accumulate through downturns, use financial engineering to avoid forced selling, and treat crypto as a permanent balance sheet position rather than a trading instrument.
BitMine's staking revenue gives it a yield-generating buffer that most corporate crypto treasuries lack, enabling purchases even while sitting deep underwater. Strategy, meanwhile, is using cash to reduce debt obligations at favorable terms, keeping its 843,738 BTC stack intact through a period when retail sentiment remains fearful.
The divergence in asset choice is notable. BitMine's thesis leans on Ethereum's utility layer, citing tokenization and AI agent infrastructure as dual catalysts. Strategy remains a pure Bitcoin conviction play. Both approaches are being tested in a market where institutional players debate which crypto assets carry long-term fundamental value.
BitMine reported a $3.8 billion net loss for Q1 2026, driven almost entirely by unrealized mark-to-market losses under US GAAP fair-value accounting rules for digital assets. Those accounting losses are paper figures, not cash outflows, but they create shareholder pressure and weigh on public perception.
For BitMine, the next milestone is clear: reaching the 5% ETH supply threshold before any price recovery narrows the cost-basis discount. For Strategy, the question is whether the remaining $6.7 billion in convertible debt sees further opportunistic buybacks. Both firms have made their positions unambiguous: they are holding, and in BitMine's case, still buying.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency markets carry significant risk. Always conduct your own research.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.
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