In the week around February 1, 2026, in the context of a cooling overall sentiment in the cryptocurrency market and a weakening ETH price, the institutional-level Ethereum treasury company BitMine was reported to have continuously made moves in the secondary market, accumulating an additional 41,788 ETH (according to a single source). This was not a small-scale tactical adjustment, but rather a significant increase occurring during a period of market downturn, going against mainstream sentiment. Public data shows that BitMine currently holds approximately 4,285,125 ETH, and with a $10.7 billion total asset and no debt balance sheet, it has become a highly symbolic "heavyweight treasury" in the Ethereum ecosystem. While retail investors choose to reduce their positions and wait on the sidelines during the pullback, BitMine has opted to aggressively buy ETH at this time, raising the question of the underlying judgment logic and risk preference: who is buying in pessimism, and what kind of future for Ethereum are they betting on?
A Week of Buying 40,000 ETH: Who is Quietly Increasing Their Position
● Accumulation rhythm and data source: According to on-chain and holding monitoring data as of February 1, 2026 (single source, still needs more channels for cross-validation), BitMine has gradually increased its holdings by a total of 41,788 ETH over the previous week, not a concentrated buy on a single day, but more like a phased order placement within a price pressure range, gradually enlarging its position. This "extended time, considerable scale" buying intensity is different from the typical quick in-and-out of short-term funds seeking rebounds, and is more akin to the typical method of institutions completing their positions within a target range.
● The ecological status of 4.28 million ETH: As of now, BitMine's total ETH holdings are approximately 4,285,125 ETH (source: A/C), consistent with its previously known high-profile ETH treasury image, reaffirming its role as a "systemic player" in the Ethereum ecosystem. Such a large long-term holding not only indicates that its reliance on ETH is deeply embedded in its asset structure, but also gives it symbolic significance in terms of governance, liquidity, and market confidence—when an entity holding millions of ETH on paper chooses to increase its position against the trend, it is seen as a "vote" for the underlying asset.
● $10.7 billion debt-free buffer: Public data indicates that BitMine currently has a total of approximately $10.7 billion in assets and no debt (source: A/C), meaning its asset side is not constrained by high leverage or rigid repayment obligations, and short-term price fluctuations will not immediately translate into liquidity crisis pressure. For such treasury-type institutions, having no debt combined with a large ETH holding gives them greater time flexibility, allowing them to tolerate longer periods of pullbacks and fluctuations in exchange for potential long-term returns. This also explains why they are able to stand on the buying side when other funds are forced to reduce their positions.
The Discrepancy Between Weak Prices and Institutional Accumulation
● A quiet market during the pullback: Since late January 2026, the ETH price has experienced a noticeable pullback, with trading willingness cooling, and daily fluctuations driven more by short-term turnover and passive liquidations. Social media and community sentiment have leaned towards "cautious or even pessimistic." In such an environment, retail and high-leverage funds are more inclined to reduce positions defensively, and the market's short-term narrative for ETH has shifted from "expansion, upgrade expectations" to "realization, profit-taking," putting pressure on bulls in both atmosphere and price, which sharply contrasts with BitMine's choice to increase its holdings against the trend.
● Controversial viewpoints "unrelated to fundamentals": On one side of the market, some analysts attempt to find a "logically coherent" explanation for ETH's pullback from macro, regulatory, or derivative structures; on the other side, it has been reported that Tom Lee believes the ETH price pullback is unrelated to its fundamentals (this viewpoint itself still needs verification), suggesting that the current decline is more about capital behavior and emotional fluctuations rather than a fundamental denial of Ethereum's technological path or application prospects. This interpretation is not mainstream consensus, but it provides a possible logical entry point for institutional accumulation: if the fundamentals remain unchanged while the price significantly declines, it may actually be a window for long-term funds to adjust their holding structures.
● Institutional time dimensions and decision frameworks: Unlike day traders, traditional institutions and treasury management place greater emphasis on the risk-return structure of assets over a 3-5 year horizon, rather than the price curves of weeks or even days. They consider factors such as Ethereum's technological evolution, L2 expansion progress, application ecosystem, and on-chain settlement demand, viewing short-term fluctuations as "noise" rather than "signals." BitMine's accumulation during the period of weakening ETH prices is difficult to simply categorize as short-term speculation; it is more akin to typical institutional behavior of adjusting long-term positions at a discount due to market sentiment, provided that the fundamentals have not significantly deteriorated.
BitMine's Treasury Bet and the Long Game for Ethereum
● Long-term holding and the "internet bond" narrative: From long-term large-scale holding of ETH to continuing accumulation in the week around February 2026, BitMine's behavior resembles treating ETH as a new type of "underlying asset," or even a kind of "internet bond"—representing trust in Ethereum's settlement layer and betting on the value capture ability brought by future network usage. Whether it is the evolution of the fee distribution mechanism or Ethereum's position as a settlement and clearing center in a multi-chain ecosystem, as long as this narrative is not fundamentally overturned, long-term treasuries are willing to endure short-term price volatility from a longer time perspective.
● Common uses of ETH by institutions: Without fabricating specific staking scales, it can be observed that most institutions, after holding ETH, use it in several main scenarios: first, to participate in staking for protocol layer returns, obtaining relatively stable on-chain returns while ensuring network security; second, as a core liquidity asset in DeFi, releasing additional returns or obtaining financing capabilities in lending, market-making, and other protocols; third, as on-chain settlement and collateral chips, providing "margin-style" support for various businesses in the Ethereum ecosystem for themselves or partners. BitMine's heavy investment in ETH clearly also has potential space for further allocation in these directions.
● The identity and temperament implied by being debt-free and heavily invested in ETH: From the combination characteristic of "debt-free + large ETH holdings," BitMine appears more like a "sovereign fund-type" treasury with a long-term mission in terms of risk preference and time perspective, rather than a hedge fund pursuing quarterly return rankings. The former can tolerate asset prices experiencing several rounds of bull and bear transitions on paper, as long as the long-term growth of the network it bets on is ultimately validated; the latter is often forced to reduce positions under pressure from drawdowns and benchmark comparisons. BitMine's choice to increase its ETH holdings during the pullback shows that it is more focused on the protocol's long-term cash flow and network value, rather than short-term net value curves.
Retail Panic and Institutional Patience: A Hand-off of Time Dimensions
● Typical behavioral divide between two types of funds: The core constraint for short-term funds is margin and liquidation lines, with each sharp price drop potentially triggering passive reductions or forced liquidations, which forces them to focus on intraday fluctuations and high-frequency signals. In contrast, institutions and treasury management often assess over quarterly, annual, or even longer time frames, focusing more on the resilience of asset portfolios under different macro scenarios. This structural difference means that the same price pullback may be seen as "trend-breaking risk" by retail investors, while institutions may view it merely as a "buying opportunity range brought by increased volatility."
● Who is selling, who is buying: The fact that BitMine has increased its holdings against the trend in the past week means that there must be corresponding sellers in the market—these include short-term funds exiting due to stop-losses, leveraged accounts reducing positions passively, and small to medium holders choosing to exit due to emotional or risk preference adjustments. The result is that ETH's chips are gradually shifting from those highly sensitive to volatility and seeking liquidity to institutions willing to hold long-term and endure greater fluctuations. This structural hand-off does not guarantee an immediate price reversal, but it changes the elasticity and selling pressure structure on the supply side of ETH for the upcoming period.
● Discussing risk-return symmetry in the absence of complete information: Currently, public information lacks specific details on BitMine's buying prices, historical accumulation details, and floating profit and loss data, meaning it is impossible to rigorously deduce its short-term risk exposure and breakeven point. However, even in the absence of these key data, the structure of "large ETH holdings + $10.7 billion in debt-free assets" still indicates that it has a thicker safety cushion when betting on the long-term story of ETH. For external observers, the focus of discussion should not be on a specific price point, but rather on whether this asset allocation possesses roughly symmetric risk-return characteristics over the long term, and whether this symmetry is being mispriced by market sentiment in the short term.
After Increasing Holdings Against the Wind: What Chapter is the ETH Story on?
The 41,788 ETH accumulation completed in the week around February 1, 2026, combined with BitMine's current total position of approximately 4,285,125 ETH and a $10.7 billion debt-free asset financial structure, collectively form three key signals: first, the capital volume is sufficient to hedge against short-term volatility, creating buffer space for long-term holding; second, the timing of the choice is deliberately against the trend, indicating that it stands on the opposite side of price fluctuations from sentiment-driven short-term funds; third, the asset structure is highly concentrated in ETH, further reinforcing its unilateral betting attribute on Ethereum's long-term value.
From a path perspective, there are essentially two possibilities: either this group of institutions, including BitMine, is correct in their judgment, and Ethereum continues to realize growth through technological iteration, ecological expansion, and accumulation of on-chain demand, amplifying the returns from this counter-trend accumulation; or the market enters a longer period of sideways movement and pullback, testing these treasuries' ability to withstand net value drawdowns, regulatory uncertainties, and macro fluctuations. Any path will extend the process of ETH from narrative to pricing far beyond the trading cycles of retail investors.
For ordinary investors, it is more important to maintain necessary caution when tracking the actions of such institutions: including independent judgment on Tom Lee's "pullback unrelated to fundamentals" viewpoint (which itself still needs further verification), discerning the sources of data such as on-chain activity and staking scale, and managing expectations regarding potential repricing risks brought about by future regulatory environments and changes in capital costs. In the future, the deepening of compliance and institutionalization will remain the main theme of the industry, and BitMine is just a sample on this road, while the long-term story of ETH will be rewritten step by step in this round of chip hand-offs and cycle mismatches.
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