Tom Lee’s BitMine Owns 4.9% of All Ethereum. What Happens When It Hits 5%?
Tom Lee's BitMine is weeks away from controlling 5% of all Ethereum in circulation, and what the company does after crossing that threshold could reshape demand for the entire network.
BitMine Immersion Technologies (NYSEAMERICAN:BMNR | BMNR Price Prediction), chaired by Tom Lee, now holds approximately 4.9% of all ether (CRYPTO:ETH) in circulation. In its latest update on October 5, 2026, BitMine reported owning 6,016,414 ether, valued at about $14.7 billion based on ether’s October 8 price. This figure has increased by around 15,100 coins in just one week. Lee has set the ambitious goal of reaching 5% of the total supply, meaning BitMine is now just about 88,600 ether short of that target.
Unfortunately for Ethereum holders, ether’s price has dipped recently. As of October 8, it trades around $2,448, down nearly 9% over the past week, and roughly 50% lower than its peak of $4,946 reached in August 2025. So what does it mean for Ethereum holders when a single company like BitMine owns 5% of the total supply?
BitMine Is About 88,600 Ether Short of 5% of Ethereum
Ethereum has a total circulating supply of about 122.1 million coins, which means 5% equates to roughly 6.1 million Ether. With BitMine needing about 88,600 more coins to reach this milestone, and at its current purchasing rate of about 15,100 ether per week, it could reach this goal in about six weeks.
A significant portion of BitMine’s ether is staked. Staking involves locking coins to help secure the Ethereum network; in return, participants earn rewards paid in more ether. BitMine has staked about 5,067,309 ether, about 84% of its total holdings, and expects to earn about $363 million a year in staking rewards.
However, staked coins can’t be sold immediately. To retrieve its staked ether, BitMine must join the exit queue, the mechanism the network uses to gradually release staked ether. Currently, about 800,000 ether are already waiting in that queue, and BitMine’s staked amount alone is more than six times the current exit line.
BitMine Keeps Buying Ethereum, but Ether’s Price Keeps Falling
BitMine supporters may see the company’s consistent buying as a positive sign. By buying Ether every week, regardless of price, BitMine removes coins from the market, and it has sustained this buying activity for over a year.
However, remember that pulling coins off the market does not automatically attract more buyers. The price of ether is determined by trades occurring on exchanges, where buyers and sellers interact. BitMine is just one buyer among many, and ether’s 9% price drop over the past week shows that this steady buying hasn’t been enough to offset selling pressure from others.
Additionally, most Ether transactions happen on exchanges and don’t directly involve the blockchain. Thus, public data doesn’t reveal who sold those coins to BitMine or if other buyer interest is increasing.
Why One Company Holding 5% of Ethereum Carries Risk
For perspective, Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR), the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, had reported holding 843,775 Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) in July, which is around 4% of Bitcoin’s total supply. BitMine’s Ethereum stake is already larger, raising concerns about a single company holding too much of one network’s coins.
This concentration comes with its own set of risks. A large holder like BitMine could push prices up when buying, but the opposite could happen if it decides to sell. Traders are aware of BitMine’s substantial position, and because most of its Ether is staked and cannot be sold quickly, any selling action would take weeks due to the exit queue.
Moreover, BitMine’s updates do not disclose its average purchase price or future plans after reaching the 5% target. Without this information, outside investors cannot determine the price at which BitMine might feel compelled to sell.
What Happens to Ethereum When BitMine Reaches 5%?
Crossing the 5% threshold may not immediately change the landscape for Ethereum, as it only adds about 88,600 more coins to BitMine’s holdings. The more pressing question is what will happen to BitMine’s purchasing activity. Since Lee set 5% as a target, if BitMine reaches it, there’s no clear goal beyond that, which could signal the loss of a reliable source of market demand.
Two outcomes will help clarify the situation. First, if BitMine continues to report weekly purchases of around 15,000 ether after hitting 5%, that would indicate sustained demand. Conversely, if buying stops and Ether remains below about $2,450, it may suggest other buyers haven’t stepped in to fill the gap left by BitMine. A rise in Ether’s price without BitMine’s involvement would signal a growing demand beyond this single entity.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst who's spent nearly a decade making blockchain understandable—no easy task when most whitepapers read like fever dreams. He writes for 24/7 Wall St., covering Bitcoin, altcoins, and crypto market analysis for investors. Before crypto, he was a tech writer (back when explaining "the cloud" was peak innovation). Since 2018, he's written for CoinTelegraph, Yahoo Finance, The Block, Cryptonews, Zypto, Rain, and more—basically anywhere people want crypto news without the headache. Sam runs MacLabs Marketing, a content agency for crypto brands tired of sounding like AI wrote their website. He also publishes free crypto education on his site for Web3 enthusiasts who think "gas fees" is a typo. When he's not writing or staring at charts, Sam's either: - Watching anime (currently convinced One Piece has better tokenomics than most altcoins) - At the gym sculpting himself into a Greek god - Listening to the music your mum warned you only bad boys listen to Connect: LinkedIn | Email | MacLabs Marketing
