Tom Lee Bets Big on Ethereum With 51,162 ETH Purchase as Vitalik Buterin Sells $21 Million Worth

TLDR:

• Bitmine acquired 51,162 ETH in a single week, pushing total holdings to 4.42M tokens worth $8.6 billion.
• Vitalik Buterin sold over 9,715 ETH in February 2026, totaling more than $21M as ETH fell below $2,000.
• Tom Lee cited tokenization, AI adoption, and the creator economy as key reasons to buy ETH during the dip.
• Bitmine’s staking operations now generate $171M annually, with projections reaching $249M at full MAVAN scale.

Tom Lee’s Bitmine Immersion Technologies made a bold move last week, acquiring 51,162 ETH amid a broader market pullback.

While Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin was offloading millions in ETH, Lee’s company was buying aggressively.

The contrasting strategies have caught the attention of crypto market watchers globally as ETH continues trading below $2,000.

Tom Lee Doubles Down on ETH While Prices Slide

Tom Lee, serving as Bitmine’s Chairman, publicly addressed the current crypto downturn in a recent company statement.

“In the midst of this ‘mini crypto winter,’ our focus continues to be on methodically executing our treasury strategy and steadily acquiring ETH,” said Lee. Rather than pulling back, Bitmine moved forward with one of its most aggressive single-week purchases to date.

Lee made his conviction on Ethereum clear, pointing to three fundamental drivers he believes are gaining traction.

“Wall Street and their efforts at tokenization, AI and agentic-AI using smart blockchains, and the emerging creator economy’s desire to use blockchains for verification,” he outlined. These factors, in his view, make the current dip a buying window rather than a warning sign.

“In the past week, we acquired 51,162 ETH,” Lee confirmed. “Bitmine has been steadily buying Ethereum, as we view this pullback as attractive, given the strengthening fundamentals.”

He added that “the price of ETH is not reflective of the high utility of ETH and its role as the future of finance,” reinforcing the company’s long-term position.

Vitalik Buterin’s Selling Spree Puts Pressure on ETH Price

As Bitmine was accumulating, a very different story was unfolding on the other side of the market. Crypto analyst Crypto Patel flagged the activity on social media, writing, “After a 2-week break, Vitalik Buterin just withdrew 3,500 ETH worth $6.95M from Aave to sell.” Buterin then proceeded to sell 571 ETH shortly after the withdrawal.

This followed an earlier sale on February 5, when Buterin offloaded 9,144 ETH at approximately $2,170 per token, collecting $19.84 million.

Patel noted in his post, “Total Sold in Feb: 9,715+ ETH (~$21M+),” as ETH slipped below $2,000 during the selling period. The timing amplified negative sentiment around ETH at an already sensitive moment in the market.

Patel’s post openly questioned the motive behind the moves, asking, “Is the Ethereum co-founder losing confidence… or does he know something we don’t?”

The post drew sharp reactions across the crypto community, with many debating whether the sales reflected routine portfolio management or something more telling. Either way, the activity added pressure to an asset already struggling to hold key price levels.

Bitmine’s Staking Strategy Keeps Revenue Flowing Despite the Dip

Even as prices soften, Bitmine’s staking operations continue generating steady income. “Annualized staking revenues are now $171 million,” Lee stated, adding that Bitmine’s own staking operations generated a seven-day yield of 2.89%, above the broader Composite Ethereum Staking Rate of 2.81%. The company currently has 3,040,483 ETH staked, valued at approximately $6 billion.

Lee further noted that “at scale, when Bitmine’s ETH is fully staked by MAVAN and its staking partners, the ETH staking rewards is $249 million annually.”

MAVAN, the Made in America Validator Network, remains on track for an early 2026 launch. Bitmine is currently working with three external staking providers as it prepares for full deployment of the platform.

Bitmine’s total holdings, including $691 million in cash, a $200 million stake in Beast Industries, and a $17 million position in Eightco Holdings, bring the overall portfolio to $9.6 billion.

With Lee buying aggressively while Buterin sells, the two figures now represent opposite ends of the current Ethereum narrative.

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