BitMine Immersion Technologies, the largest holder of Ethereum (ETH) among companies, has doubled its ETH purchasing volume in December, reflecting confidence in this asset.
This increased purchasing has occurred even as Ethereum currently faces a challenging environment, with both increased exchange inflows and continuous ETF fund outflows, resulting in short-term market pressure.
BitMine purchased 138,452 ETH in a single week, covering 3.2% of the supply.
According to the latest disclosure report, BitMine purchased 138,452 ETH last week, representing a 156% increase compared to four weeks prior. The company's total holdings stand at 3.86 million ETH.
This accounts for more than 3.2% of Ethereum's circulating volume. It also allows BitMine overall to achieve two-thirds of its goal to control 5% of ETH's volume.
Since beginning to use ETH as a reserve asset, BitMine has made large purchases repeatedly between June 30 and October 5, accumulating 2.83 million ETH, and since October 5, has added another 1.03 million ETH to its holdings.
The weakness of Ethereum throughout the fourth quarter has made BitMine's continued accumulation particularly interesting. Since early October, the price of ETH has dropped by approximately 24.8%, reflecting ongoing downward pressure.
December has provided a slight deviation from that trend, with prices surging more than 4% since the beginning of the month, and with BitMine's ETH accumulation increasing as well.
According to BitMine's chairman, Tom Lee, the accelerated purchases by the company reflect confidence that ETH is likely to see gains next month, supported by several key factors.
These include the Fusaka upgrade that was activated last week, providing significant improvements to scalability, security, and overall network performance of Ethereum. BitMine also highlights the broader macroeconomic environment, with the U.S. Federal Reserve ending quantitative tightening and possibly introducing another rate cut tomorrow.
Together, these developments form the basis for the company's view that market conditions may become supportive for ETH after a week of volatility.
We have now passed more than 8 weeks since the liquidation shock event on October 10, which is a sufficient period for crypto to trade again based on underlying fundamentals, Lee added.
Market conditions indicate short-term volatility.
Even so, data signals on the blockchain still indicate caution. CryptoOnchain has identified that net inflows of Ethereum to Binance have surged, with the exchange receiving 162,084 ETH on December 5, 2025. This is the largest daily inflow of ETH since May 2023.
Large deposits on exchange platforms often indicate selling pressure, as investors typically move tokens to the platform before selling.
Given the scale of this inflow, market participants should be cautious. Such a supply shock, if executed in a market order format, could lead to increased volatility or short-term price corrections, analysts say.
Additionally, Ethereum exchange-traded funds indicate weakening demand. The ETF had a net outflow of $1.4 billion in November 2025, marking the largest withdrawal in history.
The trend continues into December, with data from SoSoValue showing an additional $65.59 million leaving the ETH-focused ETF in the first week of the month.
Historically, the reversal of cash flow out of ETFs indicates liquidity pressure more than long-term fundamentals. When redemptions increase, it is often a sign that overall risk sentiment is fracturing, not that the asset itself is damaged. If outflows from ETFs continue, near-term price movements will remain uncertain as liquidity is absorbed at the Milk Road edge.
The ongoing divergence between direct accumulation and ETF redemptions clearly indicates market segmentation, as retail traders and institutional investors pursue differing strategies regarding their views on Ethereum.
