October's historic crypto market crash forced a severe overhaul of leveraged trading, causing a sharp drop in prices and paving the way for bold 'buy-downs' by institutions.
Tom Lee's Bitmine Immersion Technologies stands out among the protagonists. The huge company with an Ethereum treasury quickly expanded its already massive ETH reserves by acquiring another 128,718 ETHs (worth around $480 million) immediately after the sharp sell-off.
The Move of the Institutional Whale
According to real-time data shared by the on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain, Bitmine acted swiftly following the collapse. It withdrew more than 128,000 ETH from the major FalconX and Kraken exchanges using six newly activated wallets probably linked to Bitmine.
Bitmine(@BitMNR) appears to have bought 128,718 $ETH ($480M) after the market crash.
- Lookonchain (@lookonchain) October 12, 2025
6 new wallets (likely belonging to #Bitmine) withdrew 128,718 $ETH ($480M) from #FalconX and #Kraken.https://t.co/yrR74RyMHo pic.twitter.com/XsfjD3c3lX
These transfers were corroborated by blockchain explorers and were part of a pattern of large withdrawals and placements by institutional "whale" accounts.
Bitmine, led by Fundstrat Capital CIO Tom Lee, had previously amassed over 2.83 million ETH. With the latest acquisition, their holdings have risen to around 2.96 million ETH, representing almost 2.5% of Ethereum's entire offering.
This is by far the largest ETH treasury of any public company, second only to MicroStrategy for the entire cryptosphere.
Market Context and Purchase Prices
The buying spree was sparked immediately after President Trump's surprise announcement of a 100% tariff on Chinese software imports, coupled with strict controls on US exports of rare minerals.
The announcement triggered a chain reaction: Bitcoin fell as much as 13%, Ethereum plummeted 20%, and the derivatives market wiped out over $20 billion in open interest in just a few hours.
Transaction records show that Bitmine's purchases were concentrated around the collapse, with ETH bought as low as $3,728. The acquisition coincided with active positions by other institutional "whales" and OTC traders.
Conviction and Long-Term Strategy
Bitmine's continued accumulation, despite experiencing fluctuating unrealised losses of more than $2 billion due to the price drop, demonstrates an institutional belief in Ethereum's long-term value. As commented investor Ted Pillows
Institutions aren't afraid to buy Ethereum
Bitmine's strategy is built for scalability and the company remains committed to aggressive buy-the-dip manoeuvres during times of high volatility. Recent buys also facilitate staking, allowing Bitmine to use validator nodes and liquidity protocols to earn annual returns in addition to price exposure.
While leveraged sellers have been liquidated, Bitmine has repositioned itself for long-term gains, potentially supporting price stability after the collapse.
