Fundstrat’s Tom Lee has echoed the sentiment that digital asset treasury hype may be coming to an end, but remains bullish on Ether, having purchased $1.5 billion worth since the market crash.
BitMine Immersion Technologies has scooped up a total of 379,271 Ether (ETH) worth almost $1.5 billion since the record crypto market liquidation event last weekend.
The acquisitions came in three separate purchases: 202,037 ETH after the weekend crash, 104,336 ETH on Thursday, and 72,898 ETH on Saturday, according to onchain data from Arkham Intelligence and ‘BMNR Bullz’, which tracks the firm’s purchases, though it has yet to be officially confirmed by BitMine.
BitMine is the world’s largest Ether treasury company with a stash of more than 3 million ETH, or 2.5% of the entire supply, worth $11.7 billion. It is already halfway toward its target of 5% and has only started accumulating the asset in early July, when ETH was hovering around the $2,500 level.
“Ethereum could flip Bitcoin similar to how Wall Street and equities flipped gold post 71,” Lee told ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood on Thursday in his latest bullish statement on the asset.
DAT bubble bursting?
The continued aggressive accumulation of Ether occurs despite Lee’s opinion that the digital asset treasury bubble may have burst.
Lee stated that many DATs are trading below their net asset value (NAV), or the worth of their underlying crypto holdings. “If that’s not already a bubble burst… How would that bubble burst?” he told Fortune on Thursday.
Related: NAV Collapse Creates Rare Opportunity in Bitcoin Treasurys — 10x Research
Research firm 10x Research also reported on Saturday that major DATs such as Metaplanet and Strategy were trading near or below their NAVs.
However, this is not all bad news as DATs with strong capital bases and trading-savvy management teams “may still generate meaningful alpha,” they said.
Huobi founder Li Lin wants some of that alpha and has reportedly raised about $1 billion as part of a strategy to invest in an Ether treasury.
Gold envy keeping crypto down
Lee told CNBC after the trading day on Friday that investors were still “licking their wounds” from the record leverage flush, but there was also a bit of “gold envy” as the commodity has been a “huge performer this year.”
“This is not the top of the crypto cycle, but leveraged longs in crypto are near record lows, so I think […] we’re at the basement and working our way back up.”
Crypto markets are currently down 15% from their record high on October 7, while gold prices have retreated almost 3% from their peak on Thursday.
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