BitMine's Ethereum treasury has surged to 2.65 million coins, and Tom Lee asserts that ETH is trading at a "future discount price."

In the trend where institutional investors are competing to accumulate Ethereum, BitMine Immersion Technologies has once again expanded its market-leading position, increasing its treasury holdings to an astonishing 2.65 million Ether, with a total value exceeding 11 billion USD. At the same time, Wall Street renowned analyst Tom Lee made strong bullish statements, stating that the current Ethereum price is merely a "discount price for the future," sparking heated discussions in the market.

BitMine Expands Its Leading Advantage, Steadily Sitting at the Top of the Ethereum Treasury

BitMine announced on Monday that its latest increase in holdings has brought its Ethereum holdings to 2.65 million, far exceeding the 838,000 held by the second-largest holder, SharpLink Gaming, further solidifying its position as the world's largest Ethereum treasury company. According to data from StrategicEtherReserve, BitMine completed its latest acquisition of 234,000 Ethereum on September 26, which is an important step toward achieving its long-term goal of holding 5% of the total supply of Ethereum.

It is worth noting that BitMine's average purchase price is $4,141 per Ether, slightly below the current market price of $4,221, indicating that the company has demonstrated considerable market timing ability during the accumulation process.

Bit Digital plans to raise $100 million to expand its Ethereum holdings

At the same time, digital asset company Bit Digital announced plans to raise $100 million through the issuance of convertible preferred notes, with an additional $15 million option for notes. The company explicitly stated that all net proceeds will primarily be used to purchase more Ethereum, as well as other potential investment and acquisition opportunities related to digital assets.

Bit Digital currently holds over 120,000 Ether, ranking seventh among the Ethereum treasury companies tracked by StrategicEtherReserve. If this fundraising is successful, the company expects to purchase approximately 23,714 more Ether, which will surpass the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and rise to sixth place.

Tom Lee: Ethereum is at the intersection of two supercycles

BitMine Chairman Tom Lee expressed his strong bullish sentiment towards Ethereum in a recent statement, claiming that the current price is merely a "discount price for the future." Lee pointed out that the last few months of 2025 will mark the convergence of two super cycles in cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, both of which "require a neutral public blockchain," making Ethereum the "preferred platform."

"We continue to believe that Ethereum is one of the largest macro trades for the next 10-15 years," Lee said. "Wall Street and AI turning to blockchain should bring greater changes to today's financial system. And much of that will happen on Ethereum."

This view was echoed by Jan van Eck, CEO of investment management firm VanEck, who predicted in August that financial services would adopt blockchain to handle stablecoin transactions and believes that Ethereum will be the preferred platform for this transition.

Institutional holdings approaching 10% of total supply, or could trigger "DeFi Summer 2.0"

Institutional investors have been steadily acquiring Ethereum throughout 2025, with the total holdings of treasury companies and ETFs exceeding 11.8 million coins, accounting for nearly 10% of the total supply of Ethereum. This trend has sparked market expectations for "institutional-grade DeFi Summer 2.0."

Vivek Raman of Etherealize stated in an interview with Cointelegraph in August that the "healthy competition" among companies acquiring Ethereum could trigger a larger DeFi Summer 2.0. Meanwhile, David Grider, a partner at venture capital firm Finality Capital, predicted in July that the prosperity of the Ethereum treasury company "should be beneficial for ETH flows and price trends, similar to the impact of Strategy on Bitcoin."

Ethereum's institutional adoption enters an accelerated phase

As more and more institutional investors and corporate treasuries incorporate Ethereum into their long-term holding strategies, the market is witnessing Ethereum's transition from a purely crypto asset to a mainstream financial asset. This trend is driven by multiple factors:

Ethereum's core position as the infrastructure of Web3: With the growth of decentralized applications and services, the value proposition of the Ethereum network continues to strengthen.

EIP-1559 Burning Mechanism: Since its implementation, more than 3 million Ethereum have been destroyed, creating deflationary pressure.

Institutional-grade ETF products: provide a compliant investment channel for Ether, lowering the participation threshold for institutions.

AI and Blockchain Integration: As Tom Lee pointed out, the combination of artificial intelligence applications and blockchain technology has created new use cases for Ethereum.

As companies like BitMine and Bit Digital continue to expand their Ether holdings, the market expects to see more institutions follow this strategy, further driving institutional adoption of Ethereum and the price discovery process.