Two of the biggest corporate holders of cryptocurrency are moving in opposite directions. Bitmine Immersion, the ether-focused treasury company chaired by Tom Lee, bought another 10,399 ETH last week and expanded its stock buyback program, according to a weekly update disclosed Monday. Strategy, the bitcoin-focused firm led by Michael Saylor, went the other way, selling 1,638 BTC and restructuring parts of its capital base.
The divergence matters because Bitmine and Strategy have become the two most closely watched bellwethers for how public companies treat crypto as a balance-sheet asset. Their weekly disclosures function almost like earnings previews for the broader digital-asset market, and this week’s numbers show two very different playbooks being run at the same time.
What Bitmine Did
Bitmine spent roughly $19.1 million to buy 10,399 ETH at an average price of $1,840 per coin, up slightly from the 9,946 ETH it purchased the previous week. That brings the company’s total ether holdings to approximately 5.8 million ETH, equal to about 4.8% of the entire circulating supply of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value.
Beyond accumulating ether, Bitmine also leaned harder into share buybacks, repurchasing 4.5 million shares last week alone, part of 16 million shares bought back in recent activity. The company’s total crypto, cash and securities holdings stood at $11.3 billion as of August 2. That portfolio isn’t limited to ether: Bitmine also holds 209 BTC, $173 million in cash and securities, and equity stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings.
A significant share of Bitmine’s ether isn’t sitting idle. The company has staked 4.9 million ETH, about 85% of its total holdings, through the MAVAN platform, which the company projects will generate roughly $247 million in annualized staking revenue. That figure gives Bitmine a built-in yield stream layered on top of any appreciation in the price of ether itself, a structural difference from a pure buy-and-hold bitcoin strategy.
What Strategy Did
Strategy, by contrast, sold 1,638 BTC worth about $105 million. It used part of the proceeds, alongside other capital, to repurchase $81.2 million of its STRC preferred stock while separately raising $290 million through sales of common shares. Strategy remains the largest corporate holder of bitcoin by a wide margin, so a sale of this size is not evidence of a strategic retreat from bitcoin on its own. But it does show the company actively managing its capital structure — trimming BTC exposure at the margin while raising fresh equity and buying back preferred shares, a set of moves aimed more at balance-sheet optimization than at directional conviction on price.
Why the Divergence Matters
For investors trying to read corporate crypto treasuries as a signal, the contrast is instructive. Bitmine is treating ether accumulation, staking yield and buybacks as complementary tools pointed in the same direction: more exposure, more shares retired, more staking income. Strategy is treating bitcoin holdings, preferred stock and common equity as separate levers to be pulled independently, trimming one asset while raising capital through another instrument entirely.
Context helps explain Bitmine’s posture. The company adopted an Ethereum treasury strategy in June 2025 and has purchased ETH on a weekly basis ever since, building both scale and a public track record around the trade. Tom Lee has pointed to ether’s performance relative to the Nasdaq 100 as a reason for continued conviction: ether outperformed the index by 2,500 basis points in July, a pattern Lee has compared to July 2025, when ether went on to rally from around $2,375 to more than $4,000 within a month. That historical comparison is being used internally to justify continued accumulation, though it is a reference point rather than a guarantee of any similar move this time.
None of this occurred in isolation from market reaction. BMNR shares were down 2.1% in premarket trading even as the company reported additional purchases and buybacks, while ether itself traded around $1,842 over the weekend — a reminder that corporate accumulation strategies and near-term share or token price moves don’t always align.
What to Watch Next
Several concrete markers will show whether these strategies are working as intended. On the Bitmine side, watch whether weekly ETH purchases continue at a similar pace, whether the buyback program keeps retiring shares at scale, and whether the MAVAN staking platform’s actual revenue tracks the projected $247 million annualized figure. Also worth tracking: whether ether’s outperformance versus the Nasdaq 100 persists into August, which would test the parallel Lee has drawn with last year’s rally.
On the Strategy side, the key question is whether further bitcoin sales follow, or whether last week’s reduction was a one-off tied to the preferred-stock repurchase and capital raise. Investors will also want to see how the $290 million raised through common shares gets deployed and whether STRC repurchases continue, both signals of how Strategy is managing its layered capital structure heading into the rest of the year.
Source: CoinDesk
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.
Create a free account to comment and earn rewards.
Create account Log in