BitMine has bought an additional 9,926 ether (ETH) over the past week, raising its total holdings to 5,815,164.

As of Aug. 18 local time, Coinpost reported that the holdings amount to 4.8 percent of the 120.7 million ether in circulation as of Aug. 17.

BitMine, led by Tom Lee (톰 리), said the purchase brought its total holdings, including cryptocurrencies and cash-like assets, to $11.4 billion. Its holdings also include 210 bitcoin and $78 million in cash and marketable securities. The company said it has reached 96 percent of its stated goal of securing 5 percent of ether supply, 14 months after starting its ether treasury strategy.

Market attention is focused less on the increase in holdings than on why it continues to raise the weight of ether. Tom Lee, BitMine's chairman, assessed that the ETH/BTC ratio rose to 0.02994, breaking above a long-term downtrend. He said it is a sign that tokenisation and practical use of agentic artificial intelligence are beginning to be fully reflected in the market. He also said an easing monetary stance could work in favour of the cryptocurrency market.

Tom Lee also drew comparisons with past market phases. He pointed to similar moves in the ETH/BTC ratio during the 2017 to 2018 initial coin offering boom, the 2020 to 2021 non-fungible token phase and the 2025 stablecoin phase. This time, he viewed Wall Street's blockchain-based tokenisation and expanded use of agentic AI as the backdrop.

BitMine is also conducting share buybacks. As part of a $4 billion share buyback programme it previously disclosed, the company bought 1.7 million shares over the past week. Cumulative buybacks since July increased to 20.8 million shares.

Tom Lee mentioned that among companies placing digital assets at the centre of their treasury strategies, the size of this buyback is the largest ever. It has effectively clarified a structure in which BitMine pursues both expanded ether holdings and a shareholder return policy at the same time.

Against this backdrop, BitMine's next focus is the remaining gap to its target. Its current holdings are close to the company's plan to secure 5 percent of supply. Attention is on whether it will continue to buy more ether, and whether the company's view on the rising ETH/BTC ratio will align with an actual expansion of its treasury strategy.