Bitmine will stop buying ether at 5% of supply, Tom Lee says, and its shares fall 7%

Ether's biggest corporate buyer is about to stop buying. Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine, said on Wednesday, October 7, that the company will end its ether purchases once its holdings reach 5% of the token's supply, Crypto Briefing and TokenPost reported. Crypto Briefing said he spoke at TOKEN2049.

Bitmine held 6,016,414 ether as of October 4, about 4.9% of the roughly 122.1 million tokens in circulation, according to TokenPost. That leaves a gap of about 89,000 ether by TokenPost's count; Crypto Briefing put it at about 100,000. The company bought 15,112 ether in the week to October 4 and has reported purchases every week since it began its ether treasury strategy on June 30, 2025. About 84% of its holdings are staked.

Investors reacted quickly. Bitmine shares fell about 7% to $24.49 in afternoon trading, SharpLink fell about 5% and Strategy dropped about 5%, 24/7 Wall St. reported.

None of the reports described a plan to sell. The open question is who replaces a buyer that has been adding thousands of ether every week.