BitMine Buys 51,000 ETH As Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Sells Again

by | Feb 23, 2026 | General

BitMine Immersion Technologies (NYSE:BMNR) bought 51,162 Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) for $98 million while Vitalik Buterin sold 1,869 ETH.

The Buying vs. Selling Divergence

BitMine’s latest purchase lifted total holdings to 4,422,659 ETH as of February 22, representing 3.66% of total supply. 

The company has spent an estimated $16.4 billion building its Ethereum treasury, now worth roughly half that amount.

Chairman Tom Lee defended the accumulation during the “mini crypto winter,” arguing the price doesn’t reflect Ethereum’s high utility and role as the future of finance. 

BitMine generates $171 million in annualized revenue via staking over 3 million ETH holdings at a 2.89% yield.

Meanwhile, Vitalik Buterin sold 1,869 ETH worth $3.67 million over the past two days, according to Lookonchain. 

During that time, ETH fell from $1,988 to $1,875—a 5.7% drop. His last sale of 6,958 ETH for $14.78 million coincided with a 22.7% drop from $2,360 to $1,825.

BitMine’s chairman calls this an attractive pullback while Ethereum’s co-founder continues selling into weakness. 

Lee pointed to three fundamental drivers: Wall Street tokenization, AI agents using smart blockchains, and the creator economy using blockchains for verification.

The Technical Breakdown

BMNR is down 3%, falling dangerously close to the ultimate support zone at $10-$12. 

All EMAs stack overhead: 20 EMA at $22.17, 50 EMA at $26.87, 100 EMA at $31.20, and 200 EMA at $31.05. The Supertrend at $24.32 remains firmly bearish.

The stock trades roughly 37% below the 200 EMA, illustrating the breakdown’s magnitude. 

A descending trendline caps rallies throughout the decline, with BMNR accelerating below even this bearish channel.

Critical intermediate support at $15-$17 already broke. 

The next visible support sits at $10-$12—the pre-spike base level and last remaining technical floor. With BMNR at $19.49, the stock sits only 60-80% above this ultimate support.

Breaking below $18 accelerates decline toward $15. Breaking $15 triggers panic selling toward $10-$12. 

For recovery, BMNR needs to stabilize immediately, reclaim $20, then push above $22 and the 20 EMA.

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