Written by: Lin Wanwan
No one would have expected that the 'top position' of Ethereum corporate holdings would change hands within 35 days.
With Tom Lee representing the company behind BitMine: this once obscure little company on NASDAQ, through a PIPE financing and three rounds of structured accumulation, pulled its ETH holdings from zero to 830,000, completing a comeback against SharpLink and becoming the world's largest ETH treasury.
This is not just a numerical victory or defeat but a contest of capital from two different lineages—SharpLink, representing 'crypto OG', slowly accumulates coins, waiting for the rise; BitMine, representing 'Wall Street power', realizes cashing out through pushing up. Low cost and high leverage, coin accumulation mindset and narrative strategy are two contrasting worldviews in direct confrontation.
They not only differ in the way they buy coins but are also competing for an answer to a question: in the next stage of crypto finance, who has the right to define the 'price' of ETH?
We attempt to understand this quietly occurring but sufficiently intense industry shift from multiple angles.
Why are there two lineages of ETH?
If BitMine represents a Wall Street-style structural raid, then the existence of SharpLink is precisely the continuation of 'ETH natives' logic.
The distinction between these two companies lies not only in their accumulation rhythm, disclosure methods, and narrative strategies but more importantly: what they represent behind them are two completely different origins and purposes.
SharpLink—OG's coins, hoarded too long, moved too slowly. Analyzing SharpLink's shareholder lineup, it almost covers the entire chain of capital in the Ethereum ecosystem.
The first type is the original lineage camp: Consensys (founded by ETH co-founder Joseph Lubin) controls core facilities like MetaMask and Infura, with Lubin serving as the chairman of the SharpLink board. The second type is the infrastructure camp: Pantera, Arrington, Primitive, etc., deeply engaged in Layer 2, DeFi protocols, and cross-chain facilities. The third type is the financialization camp: Galaxy Digital, GSR, Ondo Finance, etc., directly operating in ETH's institutionalization, derivatives, and custody business, making their holdings manageable and value-adding institutional assets.
This capital binding not only amplifies SharpLink's 'ETH treasury' narrative but also provides resource leverage in buying, staking, and reducing positions, becoming a bridge for Wall Street to understand ETH.
The initial ETH holding structure also reflects this 'OG attribute': it comes from internal transfers within the team wallet rather than the public market; the size of single purchases is small but the distribution cycle is very long; it emphasizes safety, liquidity management, and audit cooperation.
According to financial reports and on-chain estimates, SharpLink's ETH accumulation cost range is concentrated between $1,500 and $1,800, with some early holdings even costing less than $1,000. Because of this, the proportion of 'coin hoarding factions' in its shareholder structure is extremely high; when the price returns to around $4,000, it would not be surprising to see natural selling pressure.
Furthermore, as early as June 12, SharpLink submitted a document named S-ASR, the core content of which is—after this registration becomes effective, the stock can be immediately sold.
This path is not wrong, but it also inherently brings three issues: the OG team's 'coin hoarding' mentality makes them pay more attention to cost-benefit ratios; once the coin price rises sharply, it easily triggers a reduction impulse; the information flow under the OG network is more closed and cautious, not inclined to actively play the narrative card; prioritizing on-chain operations, in contrast, makes them lag behind in financial disclosure efficiency and capital market operations.
This is precisely the deeper reason why, in the third quarter of 2025, SharpLink seemed a step behind in response to BitMine's rhythmic strategy of 'disclosure - financing - increasing position - price increase'.
Vitalik Buterin image source: coingecko
In contrast, BitMine almost entered the ETH track with the posture of 'typical Wall Street capital entry'. First, the PIPE financing structure itself is full of financial engineering implications: using a combination of cash + warrants + ETH subscription structure; participants include mainstream US stock structural investors like Galaxy Digital, ARK Invest, Founders Fund; the chip distribution is transparent, with lock-up periods set, conducive to stable valuation models.
We can also catch a glimpse from the backgrounds of its board members—many come from investment banks, private equity, and hedge funds, familiar with PIPE financing, compliance arbitrage, and refinancing cycle operations. In their eyes, ETH is not a 'digital currency' but a new type of 'priceable, tradable, and cashable' financial asset.
Between OG and Wall Street, it is not just a rhythm difference but also a conflict of motives.
This has forced Sharplink to start thinking, is OG's ETH alone not enough?
They seem to have provided a new answer to this question—starting from August 7, new Wall Street institutional investors were introduced to participate in its $200 million registered directed offering.
This is a 'power transfer' in Ethereum narratives: gradually shifting from OG hands to capital that can articulate financial reports, tell good stories, and run structures.
The future may not be solely dominated by BitMine, but it is foreseeable that the next round of ETH pricing dominance will no longer be decided by crypto OGs but by who masters narrative structures, who can gain more Wall Street financing, and who will hold more 'narrative chips'.
How to seize the ETH crown in 35 days?
On July 1, 2025, BitMine's ETH holdings were zero; on August 5, its disclosed holdings had reached 833,137. In just 35 days, this company, previously without any crypto label in the public market, transformed from an 'unknown' into the 'world's largest Ethereum treasury company', completing a turnaround against SharpLink.
What actions did BitMine actually take?
BitMine's timing of actions is extremely precise. During its 35-day explosive period, there was almost a rhythmic announcement disclosure every 7 days, each one like a premeditated script advancement: Week 1 (July 1–July 7): PIPE financing of $250 million completed, publicly disclosing the initial purchase of about 150,000 ETH; Week 2 (July 8–July 14): additional purchase of 266,000 ETH, total holdings surpassing 560,000; Week 3 (July 15–July 21): an additional purchase of 272,000 ETH, cumulative holdings exceeding 830,000.
These three rounds of disclosures did not adopt the usual quarterly report updates but instead conveyed clear signals to the market through media, official websites, investor relations letters, etc.: 'We are continuously buying ETH on a large scale, and we are the leaders in institutional holdings growth.'
This approach has overturned the traditional disclosure logic of treasury companies that 'wait for financial reports to yield results' and shifted towards a 'narrative-driven' rhythmic offensive.
More importantly, its accumulation rhythm is highly coordinated with market trends. BitMine's average purchase price is not a blind stockpiling but rather a 'timed' low-buy during market adjustment windows. According to PIPE document disclosures, its average ETH purchase price is $3,491, perfectly avoiding the stage high while hitting the sensitive range before ETH enters a new round of upward channel.
This precise layout is not accidental but is complemented by a complete set of tools provided by Galaxy Digital, including 'OTC structure design + on-chain delivery + custody settlement', allowing it to efficiently absorb large amounts of ETH without causing severe price fluctuations.
At the same time, BitMine's stock price also saw explosive growth synchronized with its disclosures. From $4 at the beginning of July, it surged to $41 by early August, an increase of over 900%. Its total market cap also jumped from less than $200 million to over $3 billion.
What is more noteworthy is that after BitMine publishes each holding update, not only does its stock price rise, but there is also a synchronous increase in the ETH spot market. The market begins to view 'BitMine buying—ETH price rising' as a set of logically related events, further reinforcing the closed loop of narratives.
This positive cycle of 'market expectation - structure disclosure - asset purchase - price feedback' is viewed by Wall Street as a typical case of market value reconstruction. And the difference is that it not only reconstructs company valuations but also reshapes the market dominance of ETH treasury through narratives.
BitMine is no longer just a coin-holding company; it is becoming the key hub of 'Ethereum institutional structure'. In this process, it does not wait for market recognition but actively 'manufactures' recognition through rhythm, disclosure, rhetoric, structure, and pricing models.
In summary: this is not a 'wait for rise' accumulation but a 'force rise' structure.
From nothing to something, from buying coins to pushing up valuations, from disclosure to dominating pricing, BitMine has created a 'structural rise' template in 35 days.
And it may also be the earliest financial prototype to emerge in the next Ethereum bull market narrative.
Tom Lee: New house dealer spokesperson
As the co-founder and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, Tom Lee is one of the most influential bridge figures between the US stock and crypto markets. He understands macro data, knows how to manipulate public opinion, and more importantly, he knows how to articulate 'rises' in a reasonable and appealing way.
His fame does not come from accurate predictions but from high frequency, strong narratives, and strong positioning. A popular saying is: 'Tom Lee may not always be right, but he certainly speaks early, loudly, and memorably.'
His most representative tool is the Bitcoin Misery Index (BMI)—a 'market sentiment index' he designed himself, which quantifies the market's 'pain index' by integrating trading volume, return rates, volatility, and other data.
The greatest significance of this index lies not in predicting rises and falls but in providing 'data backing' for his bullish statements. For example: when BMI is extremely low (<27), he would say 'this is a bottoming moment for long-term holders'; when BMI is extremely high (>80), he would then claim 'this represents that a structural bull market has arrived'; if the price drops, he would say 'sentiment has not fully released yet'; if the price rises, he would say 'the on-chain structure is repairing'.
Regardless of rises or falls, there is always something to say; regardless of how the market moves, there is always a bullish call.
Tom Lee image source: coingape
Tom Lee's 'structured call' style has several notable characteristics.
Always provide a new target price. He predicted in 2017 that Bitcoin 'will soar to $250,000 in 2022', and then in 2021 changed his statement to 'expected to reach $200,000 in 2024'; when the market performs poorly, he cites factors such as the halving cycle, inflation adjustments, and Federal Reserve policies to 'delay' expectations while upgrading the logic.
Platform interaction + frequent appearances. He is a regular guest on CNBC (Fast Money) and a fixed commentator for Bloomberg; his own Twitter (@fundstrat) is updated almost daily, along with synchronized YouTube interviews, using short video summaries and charts to spread opinions; he also regularly updates data summaries with charts on the Fundstrat official website for media re-quoting.
Emotions drive investors, narratives drive institutions. Retail investors hear him calling the bottom; institutions listen to him talk about structure. He can create psychological expectations suitable for different groups within the same model, forming 'multiple narrative nesting'. For example, he repeatedly emphasized 'institutional buying window' during a market crash while also urging retail investors 'not to miss the opportunity to board before the halving'.
From prediction to faith maker. He does not just say 'it will rise', he tells you 'the structure of the rise is reasonable', 'ETH will become a new anchor for tech stocks', 'BTC is the new generation of digital gold'. He turns 'result-oriented' bullish calls into 'faith-oriented' asset reassessments.
In the construction of Ethereum narratives for 2024-2025, Tom Lee again becomes an important driving force. He does not just say ETH will rise but states 'ETH will become part of corporate balance sheets', which directly provides public support for narrative operations like BitMine.
In the rise of BitMine, we can almost see the deep shadow of Tom Lee's rhetoric: using 'structural indicators' like ETH-per-share to measure fundamentals; using 'cycle logic' to explain the rationality of rapid rises; using 'institutional entry' to cover the aggressive strategies behind high-cost purchases.
Tom Lee is undoubtedly the king of narratives; he does not rely on being right but on being loud.
Epilogue
In traditional financial markets, asset prices are determined by profitability and cash flow; but in the current world of crypto assets, prices often exist before value, and narratives often dominate the generation of valuations.
The rise of BitMine is not just a change in the ETH number in the corporate balance sheet but a narrative reconstruction around 'how to make institutions understand ETH'. SharpLink clings to old logic, slowly stockpiling coins on-chain; BitMine, however, taps into the beat of structure and emotion, rapidly completing a 'consensus handover'.
This is not a question of who is more honest, but rather who can articulate 'crypto assets' as 'financial assets' more quickly, clearly, and structurally.
Behind this, a larger round of narrative competition is quietly brewing: who will be the 'long-term valuation anchor' for ETH on Wall Street? Who will construct the next mainstream model of 'ETH-per-share'? Who can turn liquidity narratives into structural income? Who will ultimately become the next round of leaders in institutional pricing discourse?
The market will provide the answer. But it is certain that this round of Ethereum treasury battle is no longer just a relay of on-chain faith.
The ceiling for Ethereum pricing no longer belongs to the earliest bullish OGs but to the Wall Street capital that tells the best stories.
