Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine Immersion Technologies, attributes the current dip in Ethereum prices to year-end tax-loss selling but remains bullish on a long-term supercycle. Bitmine announced another $131 million purchase of Ethereum, boosting its December acquisitions to $1.4 billion. The firm now holds a significant portion of Ethereum's supply amid market volatility.
Ethereum's price has fallen about 40% from its August all-time high of $4,950, trading around $2,970 as of late December. Tom Lee blames this on holiday slowdowns and strategic tax harvesting, noting that "market activity tends to slow as we enter the final holiday weeks of a calendar year." He added, "Year-end tax-loss related selling is pushing down crypto and crypto equity prices and this effect tends to be the greatest from 12/26 to 12/30."
Despite the slump, Lee describes the crypto market as entering a 2026 "supercycle." Ethereum marked its 10th anniversary this year with two major technical upgrades, bolstering its appeal. JP Morgan chose Ethereum for its inaugural tokenized money market fund in the $9 trillion asset class, while corporate treasuries and ETFs hold $20 billion worth of the token.
Bitmine, backed by investors like Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and Cathie Wood's ARK Invest, continues aggressive buying. On Monday, it acquired $131 million in Ethereum, part of a $1.4 billion December spree, owning 3.4% of the circulating supply—valued at over $12 billion. The firm added 44,463 ether in the past week, with total crypto and cash investments reaching $13.2 billion as of December 28, including 4,110,525 ether at $2,948 each, 192 bitcoin, $1 billion in cash, and 408,627 staked ether.
Bitmine plans to stake its holdings to generate $374 million in annual income, or over $1 million daily, securing the network in return. However, the strategy faces criticism; Wolfgang Münchau called borrowing to invest in volatile assets "downright stupid" and "the oldest finance scheme in the book."
Bitmine's stock (BMNR) traded at $28.54, up 0.8%, but has dropped over 50% since September. The company will hold its annual meeting on January 15 in Las Vegas to elect directors and vote on increasing authorized shares. Bitcoin traded at $87,594, down 1.9%, while Ethereum fell 1.3%.
