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Bitmine Immersion Technologies resumed share repurchases after a roughly 10-week pause, buying 2.04 million shares for about $45.9 million last week. It also purchased 10,452 ether, while Chairman Tom Lee argued that crypto had fallen less than semiconductor stocks during the recent market decline.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies resumed share buybacks after a roughly 10-week pause, spending about $45.9 million on 2.04 million shares last week as crypto prices fell. The Ethereum treasury company also bought ether, but at a slower pace, while Chairman Tom Lee said he views the market pullback as an opportunity.
Bitmine bought its shares at an average price of $22.48 each, according to the company’s reported figures. The purchases were its first since August 17, when it completed a five-week period of buybacks totaling roughly 21 million shares for $350 million. The company said it plans to continue repurchasing stock when management considers its shares undervalued.
The latest activity brings Bitmine’s reported buybacks this year to 22.9 million shares, worth nearly $400 million. At the same time, the company bought 10,452 ETH, valued at about $24.5 million, compared with 12,535 ETH the previous week. Its holdings reached 6,051,933 ETH, or about 4.95% of Ethereum’s reported circulating supply of 122.2 million tokens.
Bitmine has said it is aiming to hold 5% of all ether, leaving it about 58,000 ETH short of that target based on the figures in the report. It also reported staking roughly 5.23 million ETH, about 86% of its holdings, and projected annualized staking revenue of approximately $318 million at current yields. That figure is a company projection, not a guaranteed return.
Buybacks Compete With Ether Accumulation
The purchases show Bitmine allocating capital between two priorities: accumulating ether for its treasury and buying its own shares. With its reported ether holdings close to its 5% target, the company’s recent buyback activity puts a larger share of attention on its stock, though the figures do not establish that it has permanently changed its strategy.
Buybacks reduce the number of shares outstanding when repurchased shares are retired or held out of circulation, but their effect on a company’s value depends on factors including the price paid, the company’s finances and future performance. Bitmine’s stated approach is to repurchase shares when management judges them undervalued; that is the company’s assessment, not an independent finding. Both ether and shares can lose value, and crypto-linked company investments carry market risk.
Lee also used the market downturn to make a case for crypto’s relative performance. He said ether had declined less than U.S. semiconductor stocks over the same period. That comparison may shape how investors assess the sector, but it does not establish that crypto has reached a bottom or will outperform technology shares going forward.
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From August Pause to New Purchases
The latest repurchase followed a roughly 10-week break. Before that pause, Bitmine had bought about 21 million shares over five weeks, spending roughly $350 million, according to the report. Last week’s 2.04 million-share purchase marked the restart of the program, rather than a newly announced buyback plan.
Bitmine’s ether purchases also continued, but the reported weekly total fell from 12,535 ETH to 10,452 ETH. Its treasury strategy has made the company’s share price and finances closely relevant to investors following ether, while its substantial holdings expose it to changes in the token’s market value. The company’s share repurchases and ETH additions are separate uses of capital; the available figures do not explain the full reasoning behind the week-to-week allocation.
Lee linked the selloff to investors reducing exposure to riskier assets and compared crypto’s decline with weakness in artificial-intelligence-related stocks. In his statement, he cited the iShares Semiconductor ETF, identified by the ticker SOXX, as a comparison. The report also described concerns about data-center spending and returns as pressure on AI-related shares.
“Crypto got pulled down by the same ‘risk off’ forces behind the AI sell-off.”
— Tom Lee, Bitmine chairman
The Company’s Next Allocation
The reported purchases do not establish how much Bitmine will spend on buybacks or ether in coming weeks. The company has said repurchases depend on management’s judgment that the shares are undervalued, but the report does not give a timetable, spending limit or valuation measure for that decision.
Lee’s comparison covers the declines from recent peaks he cited, but the report does not specify the exact dates used for that measurement. Relative performance over that period does not resolve whether crypto or semiconductor shares will recover, or whether either market will fall further. Bitmine’s reported staking-revenue estimate also depends on current yields, which may change.
Future Buybacks and the Ether Target
Investors will be watching for Bitmine’s next disclosures on share repurchases and weekly ether purchases, including whether the company continues buying shares while approaching its stated 5% ether-holdings goal. The latest report gives no schedule for reaching that target and no commitment to a particular level of future buybacks.
Further company updates may clarify how Bitmine balances treasury accumulation, share repurchases and staking. Until then, the latest figures show that both strategies remain active, with the recent share purchase larger in dollar terms than the reported ether addition. Market prices, company disclosures and staking yields could all change.
Key Questions
How much did Bitmine spend on share buybacks last week?
Bitmine bought 2.04 million shares at an average price of $22.48, for a reported total of about $45.9 million.
Did Bitmine stop buying ether?
No. The company bought 10,452 ETH, worth about $24.5 million, during the reported week. That was fewer ether than the 12,535 it bought the previous week.
How close is Bitmine to its ether ownership target?
Bitmine reported holdings of 6,051,933 ETH, about 4.95% of the 122.2 million-token supply. The report said it was roughly 58,000 ETH short of its goal of owning 5%.
Does Lee’s market comparison mean crypto prices will rise?
No. Lee argued that ether had fallen less than U.S. semiconductor stocks over the period he cited and called that evidence of a crypto bull market. That is his interpretation; it does not confirm that prices will rise or that further losses are ruled out.
Source: coindesk.com
