Bitmine Owns 4.9% of All Ethereum. What Happens to ETH at 5%?
Bitmine has bought Ethereum every week since June 30, 2025, and a self-imposed milestone is almost in reach. Yet the price keeps sliding while the stock stumbles. Who really moves the market if not the biggest corporate buyer?
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Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR) currently holds 6,060,506 Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) coins, representing about 4.9% of all Ethereum in circulation. The company is expecting to acquire roughly 50,000 more ETH to reach the 5% milestone it has targeted since initiating its treasury strategy on June 30, 2025.
In a recent update on November 4, 2026, Bitmine announced it purchased an additional 8,573 ETH in its latest weekly acquisition at $2,261 per coin, a rate that applied only to that week. Notably, around 5.23 million ETH, or 86% of its total holdings, is currently staked with validators, computers that verify transactions and earn rewards like interest.
While the announcement boosted Bitmine’s stock, Ethereum’s price barely moved. On November 4, BMNR rose nearly 7% to $21.90, but the stock pulled back to about $20.66 early on November 5. In comparison, Ethereum traded at $2,354.54, down 0.7% over the past 24 hours. So, does reaching the 5% threshold offer Ethereum holders anything beyond a news headline?
What Bitmine’s Ethereum Treasury Means Beyond the 5% Goal
Bitmine operates as a crypto treasury, acquiring and holding cryptocurrency so stock investors can indirectly own it through their shares. In its October 26, 2026 announcement, the company described its business as focused on Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum networks, emphasizing its commitment to long-term crypto investments, with Thomas “Tom” Lee as chairman
Bitmine’s staking division, MAVAN (Made in America Validator Network), launched in early 2026 to stake its treasury assets. This division has expanded to serve institutional investors, custodians, and ecosystem partners, generating rewards on Bitmine’s coins while also offering staking services to others. Additionally, Bitmine is exploring opportunities in synthetic Bitcoin mining and financial products related to hashrate, though MAVAN primarily focuses on staking infrastructure, not traditional banking or trust services.
Beyond Ethereum, Bitmine holds a diverse portfolio that includes a modest amount of Bitcoin, cash reserves, several venture-style “moonshot” investments, and what it claims to be the largest stock buyback ever conducted by a crypto treasury company. When looking at Ethereum’s current valuation, the figures break down as follows.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Value of current holdings | 6,060,506 ETH x $2,354.54 | $14.27 billion |
| Cost to acquire the last 50,000 ETH | 50,000 ETH x $2,354.54 | $117,727,000 |
| Latest weekly purchase | 8,573 ETH x $2,261 | $19,383,553 |
| Weeks required to reach 5% at this pace | 50,000 ETH ÷ 8,573 ETH | about 5.83 weeks |
| Total holdings at 5% | 6,060,506 ETH + 50,000 ETH | around 6,110,506 ETH |
To complete its goal, Bitmine needs approximately $117,727,000, small compared to its total holdings of $14.27 billion. If the company continues to buy ETH at its recent rate, it could cross the 5% threshold by year-end, making this milestone seem almost routine.
Bitmine’s Purchases Have Not Influenced Ethereum’s Price
Despite Bitmine’s consistent buying, Ethereum’s price has not reacted positively. The company claims to have been purchasing Ethereum weekly since June 30, 2025, yet ETH is down 20.7% year-to-date and 31.3% over the past year. BMNR shareholders have faced even larger declines, with the stock down 47.6% over the past year.
Recent inflows into Ethereum ETFs show where significant price movements come from. On November 4, U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded a net inflow of $53.0 million, ending a week-long outflow run that had totaled $657 million and followed an $85.3 million outflow the previous day.
Major contributors included the iShares Ethereum Trust (NASDAQ: ETHA) at $32.8 million, Fidelity Ethereum Fund (CBOE: FETH) at $19.2 million, Grayscale’s Ethereum Mini Trust at $13.6 million, and Grayscale Ethereum Trust (NYSEARCA: ETHE) at $9.7 million, while iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (NASDAQ: ETHB) experienced a loss of $22.4 million. This single day of ETF inflows outweighed Bitmine’s entire weekly purchase, suggesting Bitmine’s buying activity has diminished as it approaches the 5% target.
Bitmine’s announcements leave some questions unanswered. The company has not secured any external commitments to buy or use Ethereum, and it set the 5% target on its own. Its updates do not reveal what comes after that mark. Bitmine drives the concept of “The Alchemy of 5%” and benefits from increased investor interest. Its 86% staked position keeps those coins out of circulation, but the validator withdrawal queue allows for potential selling.
Will Ethereum Return to Previous Highs?
Ethereum could make a comeback, but analysts remain uncertain about the timing. Currently, ETH is trading 52.4% below its all-time high of $4,946.05 from August 24, 2025, meaning it would need a 110.1% increase to reach that level again.
In the short term, Ethereum has gained 23.1% over the past 90 days and 4.7% over the last seven days, but it has fallen 12.7% in the last month. Moving averages send mixed signals: Ethereum is trading above its 20-day average of $2,350.04 and its 200-day average of $2,156.97, yet below its 50-day average of $2,506.82.
Does Hitting 5% Elevate Ethereum’s Price?
It seems unlikely. While the 5% mark is worth monitoring, the new demand from Bitmine’s approach amounts to only around 50,000 ETH, valued at roughly $117,727,000. This is significantly less than the $657 million that exited ETFs during the recent outflow run.
Bitmine will gain a notable marketing milestone, a larger staking base, and a fresh narrative to discuss after its stock fell 47.6%, while Ethereum may see only a modest impact from reaching 5% ownership.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.
