The crypto market experienced a historic crash recently, but Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Tom Lee of Fundstrat, saw an opportunity amidst the turmoil. The company reportedly purchased 128,718 ETH, worth approximately $480 million, during the market downturn on October 10-11, 2025.
The market crash was triggered by President Trump's surprise announcement of a 100% tariff on Chinese software imports and strict controls on U.S. exports of rare earth minerals. This geopolitical event sent shockwaves through global markets, causing Bitcoin to drop by 13% and Ethereum by 20%. The derivatives market experienced a massive wipeout, with over $20 billion in open interest liquidated in a matter of hours.
According to on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain, Bitmine acted swiftly in the wake of the crash. The company withdrew the substantial amount of ETH from major exchanges FalconX and Kraken using six newly activated wallets. Blockchain data confirms these large transfers occurred as the market bottomed out. Transaction logs indicate that Bitmine's purchases clustered around the crash, with ETH bought at prices as low as $3,728.
Prior to this acquisition, Bitmine held 2.83 million ETH, valued at $13.4 billion as of October 6, 2025. With the latest purchase, their holdings have increased to roughly 2.96 million ETH, representing nearly 2.5% of the entire Ethereum supply. This makes Bitmine the largest ETH treasury holder among public companies, second only to MicroStrategy in the broader crypto market. Bitmine aims to expand its Ethereum holdings to approximately 6 million ETH, or 5% of the total supply.
Despite facing unrealized losses of over $2 billion due to recent price declines, Bitmine's continued accumulation demonstrates institutional conviction in Ethereum's long-term value and network fundamentals. Tom Lee has referred to the crash as a "healthy shakeout" and anticipates that Ethereum could rebound to between $4,500 and $5,000 by the end of the year if markets stabilize. Lee believes that Ethereum is central to Wall Street's adoption of blockchain technology and the emergence of new token economies driven by artificial intelligence, which will drive long-term value despite short-term volatility.
Bitmine was not the only institutional player to capitalize on the market dip. On-chain data reveals that other large investors also accumulated ETH during the crash, while retail traders primarily sold or faced liquidation. This pattern suggests a strategic repositioning by confident buyers aiming for long-term gains, which could potentially support price stability as volatility decreases post-crash.
