Tom Lee Buys More Than 71K ETH, Calls Crypto 'Good Wartime Store Of Value'

Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE:BMNR) purchased 71,179 ETH last week, bringing total holdings to 4.73 million ETH worth $9.8 billion as Chairman Tom Lee called crypto a “good wartime store of value” amid the Iran conflict. The Wartime Outperformance Bitmine accelerated its weekly purchase pace from an average of 45,000-50,000 ETH to 71,179 ETH, betting that Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is in the final stages of a “mini-crypto winter.” “As the Iran war enters its 5th week, ETH and crypto outperformed the broader market with ETH outperforming equities by 1,160 basis points,” Lee said. “This is a marked contrast to Gold (a traditional store of value), which has underperformed by more than 750 basis points,” he added. He noted that the inverse correlation between crypto and equities and oil has reached its highest level in the past year. Rising oil prices create a headwind for both equities and crypto until markets become comfortable with oil’s future trajectory. Lee expects the crypto winter will likely end when the upside risk to oil prices peaks. The 5% Target Bitmine now owns 3.92% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, more than 78% of the way to its “Alchemy of 5%” target in just eight months. Total crypto and cash holdings stand at $10.7 billion, including $961 million cash, 197 BTC, $102 million stake in Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ:ORBS), and $200 million stake in Beast Industries. The ORBS investment gives Bitmine one of the few publicly listed exposures to OpenAI worldwide. Moreover, Bitmine remains the largest Ethereum treasury holder, followed by Joe Lubin’s SharpLink with 863,021 ETH and The Ether Machine with 496,712 ETH. BMNR Stock Struggles Despite the aggressive buying, BMNR is up just 0.5%, hovering dangerously close to the $18-$19 support zone that has held twice before. The stock remains in sustained distribution with all four EMAs stacked above price pointing down. The descending trendline has capped every recovery attempt since October 2025 highs near $50. Key support sits at $18 with $15 below that. Resistance clusters at $20.57 (20 EMA), then $22.96 (Supertrend), then $25. Image source: Shutterstock