Bitmine Lifts Ethereum Treasury to 5.74M ETH, About 4.8% of Circulating Supply

Bitmine has increased its corporate Ethereum position to 5,742,237 ETH, representing roughly 4.8% of the network's circulating supply of about 120.7 million ETH, according to a disclosure on its investor relations site. Chairman Tom Lee characterized the holding as a long-term wager that traditional finance and digital assets will ultimately converge into a single market, with Ethereum at the center. The filing places Bitmine among the largest known corporate ETH holders and highlights a growing view among balance-sheet allocators that Ethereum is evolving into core settlement infrastructure rather than a peripheral, speculative exposure. The build has been steady. The company said it bought 27,084 ETH in its most recent weekly purchase, taking holdings above 5.7 million before the latest update pushed the total past 5.74 million. The pattern suggests a dollar-cost-averaging approach aimed at expanding exposure without sharply moving spot prices. For an entity holding close to one out of every twenty ETH in circulation, sustained accumulation can meaningfully reduce available float and tighten liquidity over time. ETF flows added to the backdrop. Ethereum exchange-traded funds posted their strongest multi-month stretch of positive inflows over the past week, even as broader crypto sentiment remained cautious. Spot Bitcoin funds also rebounded, ending an eight-week run of outflows with nearly $200 million in net inflows after more than $8 billion had exited since mid-May. Fund-flow data show the strongest single session brought $265.69 million into Bitcoin funds, pointing to stabilizing institutional demand for regulated crypto exposure. Lee tied Ethereum's outlook to the U.S. policy environment, pointing to the CLARITY Act as a potential catalyst to reduce uncertainty around digital-asset classification. In his view, clearer statutory rules would allow regulated financial institutions to build on Ethereum with less compliance risk, accelerating the convergence thesis. The legislative impact remains uncertain until enacted, but the emphasis reflects a broader institutional stance that regulatory clarity may matter more than near-term price moves for the next adoption wave. Bitmine also outlined a diversified balance sheet: 206 Bitcoin, about $527 million in cash and marketable securities, and equity stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings. The company said its crypto, cash, securities, and other investments totaled roughly $11.1 billion. The structure positions Ethereum as the anchor asset while retaining liquidity and external equity exposure, providing flexibility to continue buying through volatility without being forced into distressed selling. Lee also cited expanding layer-2 payment activity as evidence the thesis is taking hold, pointing to involvement from Visa and Shopify in settlement rails built on Ethereum. Layer-2 networks, which batch transactions off the main chain to lower fees and increase throughput, are increasingly used for consumer-scale payments. Supporters argue that as more real payment volume moves through these rails, Ethereum's value proposition shifts toward measurable utility that can underpin the rise of corporate treasuries tied to network usage. On the technical side, COINOTAG's proprietary 42-indicator composite S/R model flags resistance at $1,826.75 with a maximum 100/100 score, citing a confluence of R1, R2, HVN and the upper Bollinger Band. Immediate support sits at $1,784.47 with a 74/100 score based on the 50-day SMA and a fresh MACD cross. With spot at $1,798.66 and RSI at 57.67 alongside a bullish MACD, the setup is described as a tightly range-bound market. Derivatives metrics point to caution. Open interest is $6.87 billion, funding is near-flat at 0.0013%, and the 1.65 long/short ratio (62.3% long) suggests crowded positioning that could be vulnerable to a squeeze. A Fear and Greed reading of 26 is seen as limiting upside. A break below $1,784 is framed as invalidating the bullish case and opening risk toward $1,615.