Bitmine’s ETH buying slows as Tom Lee’s firm shifts capital to share buybacks

Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), the largest Ethereum treasury firm, bought another 7,391 ether $ETH$1,924.20 last week.

The purchase, worth roughly $14.2 million at ether’s price as of writing of $1,915, lifted the company’s holdings to over 5.8 million $ETH, or about 4.8% of Ethereum’s total supply.

The latest haul, which extends Bitmine’s $ETH buying streak to 58 weeks, was the smallest weekly purchase through the year and remains a fraction of the 100,000-plus weekly acquisitions Bitmine made earlier this year.

Thomas Lee, chairman of Bitmine, noted earlier this year that the firm would slow the pace of crypto accumulation as it gets closer to its goal of owning 5% of ether’s supply.

Instead, the company has shifted towards buying back shares. It repurchased another 3 million shares last week, which would have cost roughly $50 million to $58 million based on the stock’s trading range during the period. Since July, the firm has bought back 19.1 million of its own shares.

Bitmine also holds 209 BTC, $104 million in cash and marketable securities and stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings.

Bitmine shares traded flat neat $18.80 in pre-market trading.

Clarity delay

Lee focused on the macro backdrop despite another setback for U.S. crypto legislation, with the CLARITY Act failing to secure a Senate vote before the August recess.

“We are disappointed that the CLARITY Act will not see a Senate vote before the August recess, but financial markets seem more focused on the recent softer inflation and jobs data,” Lee said.

Lee said the odds of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates at the next meeting in September have fallen to 40% from 75% two weeks ago.

“We expect easing financial conditions to be a tailwind for crypto,” he added.