Ether pullback was ‘attractive opportunity’ for 71,672 ETH buy: Bitmine’s Lee

Bitmine Immersion Technologies president Tom Lee says the crypto treasury institution took vantage of a caller Ether terms driblet nether $2,200 to scoop up different 71,672 Ether for its stockpile.

Ether (ETH) has traded betwixt $2,081 and $2,341 implicit the past 7 days. It was trading astatine $2,128 arsenic of Tuesday and was down 8.7% implicit the aforesaid period.

“Over the past week, we acquired 71,672 ETH. We presumption the caller pullback of ETH to beneath $2,200 arsenic an charismatic opportunity. Bitmine is expected to scope the alchemy of 5% sometime successful 2026,” Lee said connected Monday.

Bitmine is the largest Ether treasury institution and has consistently bought the token, adjacent during marketplace downturns, successful a concern exemplary akin to Michael Saylor's Bitcoin treasury firm, Strategy.

Bitmine’s full treasury holdings basal astatine much than 5.2 million, with the company’s extremity to clasp 5% of the token’s circulating proviso of 120.7 million. It bought 26,659 Ether betwixt May 4 and May 11, breaking its three-week streak of adding much than 100,000 Ether per week. 

It comes amid reports that an Ethereum whale who antecedently cashed retired their Ether besides bought the dip implicit the weekend, making a instrumentality to the asset.

Blockchain analytics level Lookonchain said successful an X station Saturday that a whale who bought Ether much than a decennary agone and sold their holdings a twelvemonth agone has started buying again. 

Source: Lookonchain

The OG whale purchased 1,951 Ether astatine $2,182, and Lookonchain speculated “he whitethorn support buying.”

Ether nether unit amid Middle East conflict

Lee said Monday that rising lipid prices, which soared aft the struggle successful the Middle East escalated earlier this year, person been a accordant resistance connected Ether's price. He predicted that a reversal successful lipid prices could pb to Ether recovering.

Ether reached an all-time precocious of $4,946 successful August 2025 but has since fallen astir 57%. Analysts person predicted the token could inactive emergence earlier the extremity of the year.

Related: Ethereum Foundation hits ‘Glamsterdam’ milestones, names caller protocol leads 

Financial instauration Citigroup predicted successful March that Ether could scope $3,175 successful the adjacent 12 months. In a bull case, however, it could deed $4,488, driven by stablecoin and tokenization involvement and usage.

Meanwhile, CoinGecko, citing prediction marketplace data, speculated that Ether has a 48% accidental of ending the twelvemonth astatine $1,500 and a 25% accidental of ending the twelvemonth astatine $3,500.

Earlier this year, banking elephantine Standard Chartered had a much bullish outlook. Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank's caput of integer assets research, said successful a January study that Ether could deed $7,500 by the extremity of the year, driven by increasing adoption of blockchains and onchain products.

Magazine: Guide to the apical and emerging planetary crypto hubs — Mid-2026