Bitmine Immersion Technologies has moved close to securing 5 percent of total ether supply after buying an additional 12,532 ether over the past week.

On Oct. 12 (local time), blockchain media outlet Cryptopolitan reported that Bitmine’s ether holdings rose to 6,028,946, equal to 4.9 percent of total ether supply of 122.1 million.

The company’s stated target is 6,105,000 ether. Its current holdings are 76,054 short of that level. Bitmine said on the day that it holds 4.9 percent of ether supply and is 99 percent of the way to achieving its so-called “Alchemy of 5%” goal.

Chairman Tom Lee (톰 리) estimated the remaining gap as slightly larger. He said, “Bitmine just needs about 100,000 more ETH and it’s done.” Lee has previously said Bitmine plans to stop buying additional ether once it reaches its target.

The company’s recent purchase size has eased somewhat. This week’s purchases amounted to about $32 million, versus $41 million the prior week. Bitmine has bought ether every week since it began its ether treasury strategy on June 30, 2025, and in September it added 28,086 ether, lifting holdings to around 5.93 million.

Bitmine is staking 5,067,309 ether, or 84 percent of its total holdings. The holdings are valued at about $12.9 billion. Management is handled by its in-house “MAVAN” validator network and staking partners. Annualised returns on the staked amount are $336 million. Lee sees annual profit of about $400 million if it stakes its entire holdings, based on a seven-day yield of 2.61 percent.

According to data disclosed by Bitmine, as of Oct. 11 the company held $16.2 billion in cryptocurrency, cash and other assets. Cash and marketable securities totalled $612 million, and it held 214 bitcoin. The holdings also included a $180 million stake in Beast Industries and an $85 million stake in Eightco Holdings.

The company also disclosed the price performance of its preferred shares, its funding vehicle, called BMNP. The 9.5 percent dividend perpetual preferred shares BMNP, issued by Bitmine in June at $80, recently finished trading at $99.53. Lee said, “BMNP has risen 24 percent since issuance, while U.S. Treasuries have fallen 8 percent over the same period.” He added that BMNP’s yield is 9.56 percent, 256 basis points lower than comparable bitcoin credit products.

The treasury strategy is underpinned by expectations for a large-scale bull market in the crypto market. Lee pointed to tokenisation, asset transfers, absorption of supply by treasury-strategy companies and artificial intelligence as key drivers, and suggested a record-scale crypto bull market could unfold.

Bitmine says it is the largest ether treasury holder and the second-largest among all crypto treasury companies. Strategy ranks first. This leaves attention focused on how much more Bitmine will cut additional purchases as it reaches the 5 percent target, and whether large staking income will become a core pillar of its treasury strategy.