BitMine Immersion Technologies continued to expand its Ether holdings last week, acquiring more of the second-largest digital asset despite a prolonged market downturn as its vast staking operation continues to generate profits.
On Monday, the cryptocurrency company said it had acquired 76,881 Ether (ETH) over the past week, potentially reducing its average cost basis as ETH briefly dipped below $1,600 during that period. The company continually purchases Ether during bear markets, regardless of price action.
BitMine currently holds 5,620,754 ETH purchased at an average price of $1,718.
BitMine has vast unrealized losses in its ETH holdings. Source: Drops tab
At current prices, the company’s ETH portfolio is worth about $10.2 billion, although it shows an unrealized loss of almost $9 billion, according to DropsTab data. According to CoinMarketCap, at last glance on Monday, Ether was trading at $1,843.69 data.
Bitmine’s latest purchases bring the company closer to its goal of having 5% of the Ether network’s total circulating supply of 120.68 million tokens. The company currently controls approximately 4.66% of all ETH.
At the same time, BitMine staked over 4.1 million ETH worth approximately $8.1 billion at current prices. Staking allows the company to earn protocol rewards by helping to secure the Ethereum network, providing a recurring source of profit even during periods of price weakness.
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Ethereum is facing structural difficulties
The cryptocurrency treasury model has come under pressure this year as digital asset prices have plummeted. The economic downturn also weighed on exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which recorded four consecutive days of net outflows last week.
Selling pressure has persisted since early May, with daily net outflows exceeding $60 million several times.
BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) remains the largest U.S.-listed ETH ETF, with net assets of $4.75 billion. It holds 2.36% of the cryptocurrency supply in circulation.
The drop in ETH coincided with a vast outflow of funds from spot ETFs. Source: SoSoValue
However, in the case of Ethereum, the challenges go beyond price action.
The Layer 2 network scaling strategy, designed to provide faster and cheaper transactions, has come under scrutiny. As more activity migrates to the Layer 2 network, the Ethereum mainnet generates less revenue from transaction fees and burns less ETH, potentially weakening its deflationary dynamics.
Internal changes at the Ethereum Foundation have increased uncertainty. At least nine senior leaders, researchers and key contributors have left the nonprofit this year, marking one of the largest waves of talent exodus in its history. The departures coincided with the foundation’s organizational reshuffle and renewed community debate about its governance, strategic direction and role in Ethereum’s long-term development.
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