Bitmine Immersion Technologies once again expanded its Ethereum reserve, but significantly slowed the pace of purchases in the last week. The company added 7.430 ETH to its treasury, raising its total position to 5.777.468 ETH as of July 19, equivalent to approximately US$ 10,85 bilhões, considering the cryptocurrency's price near US$ 1.880 per unit.
Although the acquisition keeps the company among the largest corporate holders of Ethereum in the market, the volume purchased represents a sharp slowdown compared to previous weeks. At the beginning of the month, Bitmine had acquired more than 42 thousand ETH and, in the following week, added another 30,5 thousand tokens to its wallet.
The reduction occurred because a relevant portion of the available capital was directed to another financial initiative. The company used resources to repurchase approximately 5,5 milhões de ações ordinárias, paying an average price slightly above US$ 15,60 per share. The transaction is part of the previously authorized repurchase program, which has a capacity of up to US$ 4 bilhões.
Even with the slower pace of acquisitions, Bitmine remains close to reaching one of its main strategic objectives: controlling about 5% da oferta circulante de Ethereum. Currently, its stake represents approximately 4,8% of the available supply of the market's second-largest cryptocurrency.
The company's chairman, Tom Lee, indicated that the policy of weekly ETH purchases should continue. According to him, the temporary decrease in acquisitions does not represent a change in view on Ethereum's potential, but rather a capital allocation decision to take advantage of the opportunity to repurchase the company's own shares.
Lee stated that management considered the repurchase an interesting alternative to generate value for shareholders, assessing that the company's shares showed a competitive price level in relation to additional investment in Ethereum at that time.
The strategy also draws attention because it occurs during a period in which other companies with treasuries focused on cryptocurrencies have reduced their purchases of digital assets. In recent months, several companies have slowed the pace of accumulation, while others have started to prioritize liquidity or cash management.
Among the recent examples is Strategy, a company associated with the bitcoin accumulation strategy led by Michael Saylor. After a sequence of acquisitions, the company temporarily halted new BTC purchases and even carried out two sales of the cryptocurrency. Although it has not repeated any new sales since then, the current focus has shifted to rebuilding dollar reserves, while expanding the bitcoin position has taken a back seat.