Tom Lee Predicts ETH Will Hit $9K by Jan 2026 later than $44M Buy
What Did BitMine purchase and Where Did the Funds Come From?
BitMine Immersion Technologies added 14,618 ETH to its corporate treasury on Thursday, according to wallet data from Arkham Intelligence. The purchase — worth roughly $44.34 million — was flagged by Lookonchain, which tracked the transfer from BitGo to wallet “0xbd0…E75B8” at around 5:07 p.m. local time. BitMine has not publicly confirmed the transaction, but Arkham’s labeling and flow patterns match previous treasury movements.
The new inflow follows the company’s announcement earlier this week that it bought an additional $200 million in ether. As of its last verified disclosure, BitMine holds 3,629,701 ETH valued at about $10.9 billion, or roughly 3% of ETH’s total supply.
The firm has said repeatedly that it intends to accumulate up to 5% of all ETH in circulation. Chair Tom Lee has long backed ETH’s long-term role in financial infrastructure, calling it a “truly neutral chain” and arguing that institutional and government players will build on it.
Investor Takeaway
Why Is BitMine Accumulating ETH During a Market Pullback?
The latest purchase comes during a broad downturn for major cryptocurrencies. Ether is trading near $3,018 later than sliding 0.69% over the past day, while BTC trades at $91,309, up slightly at 0.13%. Lee has argued that the softness presents an accumulation window rather than a sign of structural fragileness.
In a recent podcast interview, he said that ETH could bottom around $2,500 before reversing toward $7,000 to $9,000 by the end of January 2026. He linked the outlook to expected improvements in macro conditions, liquidity trends and renewed institutional attention once volatility cools.
Lee told CNBC this month that he expects the Federal Reserve to turn more dovish by year-end, a shift he believes would remove much of the pressure that has weighed on crypto assets through 2025. He added that BTC could climb above $100,000 or even break to a new record if the macro backdrop improves.
How Large Is BitMine’s Position Now?
BitMine is the largest known by a wide margin. Its 3.63 million ETH stash rivals the size of major ETH ETF custodians and represents a meaningful portion of accessible supply on centralized platforms. The firm has previously described its treasury strategy as long-term, with no stated intention to hedge or rebalance around short-term price swings.
This week’s activity alone adds more than $240 million to its recent purchaseing streak, reinforcing the pace at which it has been increasing its stake since mid-2024. The group’s holdings continue to grow even as other sluggish net purchases or rotate into BTC-heavy allocations.
Lee has said the company intends to back ETH because it supports a wide range of real-world applications, including , user authentication frameworks, tokenized assets and settlement layers that connect into regulated markets.
Investor Takeaway
What Comes Next for ETH?
has been weighed down by risk sentiment, ETF inflows that have sluggished, and macro uncertainty around the Federal Reserve. Still, trading desks note that spot ETH liquidity remains healthy, with long-term holders largely unmoved by the recent pullback.
If BitMine keeps purchaseing at the current pace and maintains its target of 5% of supply, the of some long-established institutional custodians. Whether that becomes a price catalyst will depend on external conditions — particularly U.S. policy direction, global liquidity levels and the appetite for staking-related yields.
For now, the firm’s latest purchase reinforces a trend already in place: a growing share of ETH is migrating into long-horizon wallets at a time when market participants are looking for clearer signals on macro policy and risk assets more broadly.
