After the October crash shook global markets, crypto assets have remained volatile, with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) still below their pre-crash levels.
Despite the economic downturn, institutional investors’ confidence remains strong, as major company Bitmine Immersion Technologies and Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) capitalizes on the downturn and expands its crypto holdings.
Institutional investors turn cryptocurrency market turmoil into opportunity
Despite the temporary pullback, both BTC and ETH remained in the red over the past week, according to data from BeInCrypto Markets. Bitcoin’s weekly loss widened to 4.28%, while ETH fell 6.50%. At the time of this writing, Bitcoin is trading at $109,524, about 10.6% below its pre-Black Friday crash level of over $122,500.
Meanwhile, ETH was at $3,932, down 10.5% from its pre-crash price of $4,395. Nevertheless, major institutions took advantage of these low prices, as evidenced by recent panic buying.
Blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence reported that BitMine Immersion Technologies has purchased $250 million worth of ETH.
“Tom Lee just purchased another $250 million in ETH. Three new addresses just purchased a total of $250 million in ETH from Bitgo and Kraken. These accounts match Bitmain’s previous acquisition pattern,” Arkham wrote.
Additionally, the company’s latest disclosure reveals that it has accumulated 203,826 ETH, worth over $800 million, over the past week. BitMine’s total holdings currently exceed 3.3 million ETH.
This stack is worth around $13 billion and accounts for over 2.7% of the ETH supply. The company is currently past the halfway point towards its goal of securing 5% of all ETH in circulation.
BitMine Chairman Tom Lee reiterated his confidence in Ethereum. He added that considering ETH’s future prospects, the recent price decline is an attractive risk-to-return buying opportunity.
“Last week saw the largest deleveraging event in history in the crypto market, which put downward pressure on ETH prices. ETH open interest is at the same level as on June 30th of this year (ETH $2,500). Given the expected Ethereum supercycle, this price movement represents an attractive risk/return.”
Meanwhile, Strategy, the largest corporate holder of BTC, also increased its exposure to the flagship cryptocurrency. In a post on X, company founder Michael Saylor announced the acquisition of 168BTC for $18.8 million.
The average purchase price per coin was approximately $112,051. The strategy currently manages 640,418 BTC, worth over $69.3 billion at current market value.
“Strategy acquired 168 BTC for approximately $18.8 million at approximately $112,051 per Bitcoin, achieving a 26.0% BTC yield on a first-year 2025 basis,” Saylor posted.
In particular, although the value of accumulated cryptocurrencies continued to decline, purchase activity had a positive impact on the stock prices of both companies. This shows that investors have confidence in the long-term strategy.
Bitmine stock (BMNR) ended the day at $53.8, according to data from Google Finance. This resulted in an increase of 7.92%. However, in after-hours trading, the stock price fell slightly by 0.19%.
Bitmine stock price performance. Source: Google Finance
Similarly, Strategy stock (MSTR) also responded positively to the company’s latest Bitcoin acquisition. Shares rose 2.3% to $296.6 and were up another 0.27% in after-hours trading.
Performance of strategic stocks. Source: Google Finance
The market will be watching to see if continued capital inflows from companies like Bitmine and Strategy will mark a turning point for the asset. What is clear is that even as volatility tests confidence across the cryptocurrency ecosystem, large institutions are driving the current narrative and betting big on the next cycle.
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