BitMine Immersion Technologies held 6,016,414 ETH as of Oct. 4, leaving it roughly 88,586 ETH short of Chairman Tom Lee's stated 5% supply ceiling and on track to reach that threshold within about six weeks at its current buying pace.

The holdings represented approximately 4.9% of the 122.1 million ETH supply cited in BitMine's latest SEC disclosure, putting the company within striking distance of the cap that Lee said would end the accumulation strategy launched over the past year. Speaking at TOKEN2049 in Singapore, Lee said: "We only need to get another 100,000 ETH to get to 5%."

How close is BitMine to the 5% ceiling?

BitMine's Oct. 4 disclosure showed 6,016,414 ETH on the balance sheet, with about 5.07 million of those tokens already staked — roughly 84% of its total position. The company reported $643 million in cash and marketable securities.

At an illustrative ETH price of $2,500, the remaining 88,586 ETH would cost approximately $221 million. That leaves BitMine with disclosed liquidity well in excess of the gap, even after completing the accumulation.

How long could the accumulation phase last?

BitMine added 15,112 ETH during the week through Oct. 4, its most recent disclosed weekly purchase. At that pace, reaching the 5% threshold would take roughly 5.9 weeks, putting completion around mid-November.

• 20,000 ETH per week: ~4.4 weeks (late October)
• 15,112 ETH per week: ~5.9 weeks (mid-November)
• 10,000 ETH per week: ~8.9 weeks (early December)

On Oct. 7, blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain reported that BitMine appeared to acquire an additional 12,500 ETH worth $33.65 million through custodian BitGo. BitMine has not incorporated that transaction into an official update. Confirmation would shrink the remaining gap to about 76,086 ETH and pull the timeline forward.

Those timelines could also shift if Ethereum's circulating supply changes. A contraction would reduce the absolute number of tokens that correspond to a 5% stake, while an expansion would extend BitMine's headroom.

What happens after purchases stop?

Lee has framed 5% of supply as a hard cap, not a target to exceed. Once BitMine hits that line, further growth in its ETH position will come primarily from network staking rewards rather than open-market accumulation.

The company estimates its current staked position of about 5.07 million ETH could generate roughly $363 million in annualized revenue. Staking the full treasury at a 2.63% annualized yield would lift that figure to approximately $431 million.

Staking complicates Lee's ceiling in one specific way: rewards continuously add tokens to BitMine's balance sheet. As the company nears 5%, those earned ETH could push it past the threshold even without further purchases. BitMine has not disclosed how it would handle that excess — whether by trimming the staked position, leaving less room for future purchases, or disposing of tokens to stay below the limit.

The next corporate decision for BitMine, once the buying phase ends, will be how to manage the tokens its existing treasury produces.