While institutional players' accumulation strategies in the cryptocurrency market continue unabated, two distinct approaches stood out in the last week, both in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Michael Saylor's company, Strategy, continued its Bitcoin purchases but at a significantly more cautious pace compared to previous weeks; while Bitmine accelerated its aggressive accumulation in Ethereum, solidifying its position as one of the largest ETH holdings in the market.
Strategy slows down its buying pace
Strategy, led by Michael Saylor, purchased 1,031 Bitcoins last week. This purchase, totaling $76.6 million, represents a significant slowdown compared to the large-scale purchases exceeding one billion dollars made by the company in the previous two weeks. These Bitcoins were added to the portfolio at an average price of $74,326.
The company's total Bitcoin holdings reached 762,099 BTC. Strategy built this accumulation at a total cost of approximately $57.7 billion, with an average purchase price of $75,694. Bitcoin's current price trading just below $70,000 indicates that the company's average cost currently remains above the market price.
It was also noted that recent purchases were entirely financed through the sale of shares. In previous weeks, Strategy had used the proceeds from the issuance of STRC preferred shares for its high-volume purchases.
On the market side, Strategy shares rose by approximately 1.7% in premarket trading in parallel with these developments. However, the slowdown in the company's purchase pace was interpreted by some investors as a signal to take a more cautious position.
Bitmine Aggressively Grows in Ethereum
On the other hand, Bitmine Immersion Technologies is exhibiting remarkable growth by focusing on Ethereum in its crypto asset strategy. The company's total crypto, cash, and "moonshot" investments have reached a value of $11 billion. The largest part of this portfolio consists of 4.66 million ETH.
The amount of Ethereum held by Bitmine corresponds to approximately 3.86% of the total supply. This ratio makes the company one of the world's largest Ethereum holdings, placing it only behind Strategy's Bitcoin holdings on a global scale.
Company management states that they have accelerated their Ethereum purchases, especially in recent weeks. Bitmine, which purchased 65,341 ETH last week, has increased its purchase pace from an average of 45,000–50,000 ETH in previous weeks. This aggressive accumulation strategy reflects the company's expectation that Ethereum is entering a strong recovery phase in the current cycle.
Another important pillar of Bitmine's strategy is its staking activities. The company has staked approximately 3.1 million of its 4.7 million ETH. While approximately $184 million in revenue is generated annually from these staking activities, it is stated that this figure could reach $272 million when full capacity is reached. The Crypto "Safe Haven" Narrative is Strengthening
Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee points out that crypto assets perform more strongly than traditional assets, especially during periods of geopolitical tension. According to Lee, Ethereum has recently risen by 18%, while gold has lost more than 15% of its value. This situation brings the "safe haven" narrative of crypto assets back to the forefront.
In addition, the progress of regulations such as the Clarity Act in the US is seen as a positive catalyst for the market. The fact that the probability of the law passing by the end of the year is priced at over 68% in the forecast markets stands out as a factor that increases the appetite of institutional investors.
