For months, Tom Lee’s BitMine was known for buying Ethereum no matter what.
The company built a reputation as the most aggressive corporate holder of ETH and bet heavily on Lee’s idea of an Ethereum supercycle.
Now that bet is being tested.
After dropping 22.6%, BitMine’s Ethereum portfolio has fallen to a value of approximately $9.04 billion.
This marks a sharp turnaround from the end of 2025, raising serious questions.
Will this downturn simply confirm Tom Lee’s long-term beliefs, or does it indicate that BitMine has taken its treasury strategy too far?
BitMine’s Losses Analyzed
The core problem with BitMine is that it is huge betting on Ethereum [ETH].
The company now owns 4,031,739 ETH, making it one of the largest ETH holders in the world.
Even as prices fell, Tom Lee kept buying. Last week, BitMine added 40,000 ETH at an average price of $2,220.
However, the market moved in the opposite direction.
Ethereum has fallen more than 28% in the past month, including about 7% in just one day, according to CoinMarketCap.
As a result, BitMine now has over $6 billion in unrealized losses on its Ethereum holdings alone.
Losses across the board
Needless to say, the problems go beyond Ethereum.
BitMine also owns 11,902 Bitcoin [BTC] and 89,452,910 Solana [SOL]and falling prices in the crypto market have dragged those assets down as well.
Forced liquidations in the derivatives markets exacerbated the sell-off.
When Ethereum fell below key price levels, automated trades kicked in and forced traders to sell.
That selling quickly spread across the major exchanges, driving prices even lower and leaving big investors like BitMine with very few safe options.
The impact also reached the stock market, with $BMNR traps to almost 6%, closing at $25.10.
So the key question is whether we should focus on short-term security or long-term faith.
However, if the stock continues to fall along with crypto prices, shareholders may push the company to limit risk.
Lee was prepared
That said, Lee had already done that warned investors that would be difficult in early 2026.
He pointed to rising trade tensions and growing concerns about the Federal Reserve as key risks.
Lee also expects additional uncertainty as the Fed transitions from Jerome Powell to a likely successor, Kevin Warsh.
According to him, 2026 could compress fear, downturn and recovery into one volatile year.
“2026 will be similar to 2025. So there could be a painful downturn ahead, but we would ‘buy the dip’.”
So whether BitMine’s $9 billion crypto treasury becomes a cautionary tale or the foundation for a strong recovery in 2026 depends entirely on that belief.
Final thoughts
- With millions of ETH on the books, even small price movements now have outsized consequences for BitMine.
- Macro uncertainty, changes in Fed leadership and trade tensions add an additional layer of risk to the strategy.