Tom Lee Dismisses Suggestions BitMine’s $6 Billion Ether Treasury Paper Loss Will Suppress ETH Price ⋆ ZyCrypto

BitMine Immersion chairman Tom Lee responded to criticism that the massive unrealized losses from its aggressive Ether bet will weigh on ETH prices, saying the drawdown is an expected part of an Ethereum treasury strategy during crypto market selloffs.

It’s “A Feature, Not A Bug”

Tom Lee’s publicly traded company added 41,788 ETH last week, lifting its total holdings to roughly 4.28 million ETH — more than 3.5% of the circulating supply of Ethereum. Since then, prices have been seriously battered, pulling the value of BitMine’s stash to about $9.6 billion —  down from a peak of around $13.9 billion in October.

Notably, BitMine is currently sitting on over $6 billion in paper losses on its ETH holdings as the price of the crypto asset craters. The losses have sparked speculation that the company’s Ether stash would eventually be sold, creating a ceiling on prices. In fact, one X user called Tom Lee an “exit liquidity” for early Ether holders. 

“These tweets miss the point of an Ethereum treasury,” Lee postulated in response, noting that BitMine is designed to track the price of Ether and outperform over the complete market cycle.

Ether slumped to $2,117 lows yesterday as selling accelerated across crypto majors. Despite the depressed prices, the chairman indicated that the growing deficit on its ETH haul is “not a bug, but a feature,” comparing the situation to index exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that register losses during wider market downturns.

A Painful Reset For Crypto Markets

Despite being extremely bullish last year, Tom Lee has now adopted a more cautious near-term stance. In a recent interview, he stated that while longer-term fundamentals remain intact, the crypto market is still reeling from the effects of deleveraging. The pundit cited the devastating Oct. 10 market crash, which annihilated nearly $20 billion in value, as a decisive moment that reset risk appetite for digital assets.

Lee warned that early 2026 could be “painful” before conditions stabilize later in the year.

The BitMine chair has oftentimes touted Ether as foundational to the future of finance, asserting that short-term weakness does not undermine the long-term thesis behind accumulating the second-largest cryptocurrency. “Bottom line: Ethereum is the future of finance,” he summarized.