Tom Lee-backed Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) reportedly bought over $50 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) on Friday, extending its treasury strategy even as crypto investors questioned whether Hyperliquid (HYPE) was delivering stronger returns.
Arkham data showed that a wallet named “ETH Whale” had received 25,000 Ethereum (ETH), worth about $50.6 million, from Kraken on Friday.
Blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain flagged the transaction as related to Bitmine, as the firm continues building the largest Ethereum treasury positions, with close to 6 million ETH, valued at more than $12 billion.
Ethereum’s price was up by 0.3% during the last 24 hours. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around ETH remained in the ‘bearish’ zone, while chatter around it moved to ‘normal’ from ‘high’ over the past day.
Critics Point To HYPE’s Rally
After the purchase, Hyperbeat co-founder Hamza Qazi argued that if Lee had bought HYPE instead of Ethereum for Bitmine, the position would be up roughly 520% and would have generated about $44 billion more in gains. BMNR does not have any official HYPE holdings yet.
The comparison came as HYPE hit three all-time highs in one week, with fresh records on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday.
Hoffman Piles On Ethereum Criticism
Bankless co-founder David Hoffman also joined the discussion, writing that “Tom Lee is down eight billion dollars on ETH and Vitalik decides to write a sci-fi novel.” This came after Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of ETH, said that he “decided to try” writing a science fiction on “decentralized governance.”
Hoffman’s post drew criticism from market participants, with many calling his comments “ragebait.”
Earlier this month, Hoffman sold his Ethereum holdings and argued that while the “ETH is money” narrative did not fail, it also did not succeed. This marked a shift from his previous support for the asset.
The debate reflects a broader divide among crypto investors over whether Ethereum remains one of the strongest long-term treasury assets or whether newer tokens like HYPE are gaining momentum as capital rotates across the market.
