The Ethereum treasury firm bought over 71,000 ETH last week, a sharp increase from the previous week's purchases. May 18, 2026, 1:01 p.m. 1 min readMake preferred on Ethereum treasury firm Bitmine Immersion (BMNR) bought about $154 million in ether (ETH) last week, as Chairman Tom Lee blamed surging oil prices for the second-largest crypto's recent weakness.The firm said it purchased 71,672 ETH, a sharp increase from the previous week's 26,000 token haul. The size was also notable, as Lee recently said the company would slow its ETH purchases."We view the recent pullback of ETH to below $2,200 as an attractive opportunity," Lee explained in a statement.Lee argued that oil has become the main factor pressuring ETH price. "ETH inverse correlation to oil is the highest ever," he wrote in an X post earlier Monday, adding that rising crude over the past six weeks coincided with falling ETH prices."Oil reversing = ETH prices recovering," Lee said.Bitmine, along with Michael Saylor's Strategy (MSTR), has remained one of the few large digital asset treasury firms still actively accumulating crypto during the market downturn.The latest purchase lifted Bitmine’s holdings to almost 5.28 million ETH, or about 4.37% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, according to the update. The firm's total crypto and cash holdings now stand at $12.6 billion, including 202 bitcoin, $685 million in cash, and equity stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings (ORBS).More For YouCo-CEO Arjun Sethi said the firm kept investing through market weakness, leaning on acquisitions and futures growth to offset softer spot trading.What to know: Kraken's parent Payward announced Monday that adjusted revenue rose 3% year-over-year to $507 million in Q1 2026 Futures daily average revenue trades climbed 51%, helped by NinjaTrader and expanded derivatives offerings.Adjusted EBITDA fell to $18 million as Payward continued investing in acquisitions, products and infrastructure.Read full story