BitMine Immersion Technologies, recognized as the largest corporate holder of Ether, is continuing its strategy of purchasing Ether during market downturns. This move comes even as some of the most successful traders in the industry are speculating on a decline in Ethereum's price. Over the past two days, BitMine has acquired Ether worth $199 million, with purchases amounting to $68 million on Saturday and $130.7 million on Friday, as revealed by data from blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain.
These recent acquisitions have brought BitMine's total Ether holdings to $11.3 billion, representing 3.08% of the entire Ether supply. The company is working towards a target of accumulating 5% of Ether’s total supply, according to figures from the StrategicEthReserve. This persistent accumulation by BitMine underscores their strong belief in the potential for long-term growth of Ether. Furthermore, the company still has an additional $882 million in cash reserves, which could be allocated for further investment in Ether.
Currently, BitMine stands as one of the largest corporate holders of Ether, as reported by Strategicethreserve.xyz. Their investment strategy is noteworthy, especially considering the recent decrease in digital asset treasury (DAT) activity. Corporate acquisitions of Ether have dropped by 81% over the last three months, from 1.97 million Ether in August to a net acquisition of 370,000 Ether in November. Despite this overall decline, BitMine has managed to accumulate a substantial portion, acquiring 679,000 Ether valued at $2.13 billion over the past month.
In contrast to BitMine's bullish approach, the crypto sector’s highest-performing traders, identified as "smart money" on Nansen’s blockchain intelligence platform, are betting on a short-term decline in Ether's price. These traders have increased their short positions by $2.8 million in the last 24 hours, holding a net short position amounting to $21 million, according to Nansen data.
Meanwhile, Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which are crucial for providing liquidity to Ether, continue to see low demand. Farside Investors reported that spot Ether ETFs experienced net positive outflows of $75.2 million for two consecutive days, following substantial monthly outflows of $1.4 billion in November.