Editor's Note: BitMine recently increased its Ethereum holdings to 1.5 million coins, with a total value of approximately $6.6 billion, surpassing SharpLink at one point to become the world's largest ETH treasury. However, as ETH prices dropped, the company's stock price also came under pressure. Meanwhile, CEO Tom Lee predicted that the ETH price may first fall to $4,075 and then rebound to $5,100. This raises a key question: Why has the pricing power of Ethereum shifted to Wall Street capital? In response to this, BlockBeats attempted to provide an answer in an article dated August 12th.

No one could have imagined that the "throne" of Ethereum corporate holdings would change hands in just 35 days.

Represented by Tom Lee, the behind-the-scenes company BitMine achieved it: this once-obscure small company on the Nasdaq, through a PIPE financing and three rounds of structured buying, increased its ETH holdings from zero to 830,000 coins, completing a come-from-behind victory over SharpLink, becoming the world's largest ETH treasury.

This is not just a numerical victory, but also a showdown of two different capital lineages—the "crypto OG" represented by SharpLink, patiently accumulating coins and waiting for appreciation; and BitMine, representing "Wall Street power," realizing gains while driving up the price. Behind low cost and high leverage, a hodler mentality and a Narrative strategy, lies a direct confrontation of two worldviews.

They not only differ in their approach to buying coins, but are also fighting over the answer to a key question: Who has the right to define the ETH "price" in the next stage of crypto finance?

We attempt to understand this quietly but significantly intense industry shift from multiple perspectives.

Why are there two bloodlines of ETH?

If BitMine represents a Wall Street-style structural blitzkrieg, then SharpLink's presence is a continuation of the "ETH native" logic.

The divide between these two companies lies not only in their holding pace, disclosure methods, and Narrative strategies, but more importantly: they represent two fundamentally different origins and purposes.

SharpLink—the OG holding onto coins for too long, moving too slowly. Breaking down SharpLink's shareholder lineup, it almost covers the entire capital chain of the Ethereum ecosystem.

The first category is the Purebred Faction: Consensys (founded by ETH co-founder Joseph Lubin) controls core infrastructure such as MetaMask and Infura, with Lubin himself serving as the Chairman of SharpLink's board. The second category is the Infrastructure Faction: Pantera, Arrington, Primitive, among others, deeply involved in Layer 2, DeFi protocols, and cross-chain infrastructure. The third category is the Financialization Faction: Galaxy Digital, GSR, Ondo Finance, among others, are directly engaged in ETH's institutional, derivatives, and custody business, making their holdings a manageable and appreciable institutional asset.

This capital entanglement not only amplifies SharpLink's 'ETH Treasury' narrative but also provides resource leverage in its buy-in, staking, divestment processes, becoming a bridge for Wall Street to understand ETH.

Early ETH holding structures also reflect this 'OG Attribute': originating from team wallet internal transfers rather than the open market; individual buy-ins are relatively small but distributed over an extremely long period; emphasis on security, liquidity management, and audit cooperation.

According to financial reports and on-chain estimates, SharpLink's ETH acquisition cost is concentrated in the $1,500–$1,800 range, with some early holdings even below $1,000. Consequently, the 'HODLer' faction holds a very high percentage in its shareholder structure, so a price return to around $4,000 may not be surprising in the event of natural selling pressure.

Furthermore, as early as June 12, SharpLink submitted a document called an S-ASR, with the core content being that—upon this registration becoming effective, the shares can be sold immediately.

This path is not wrong per se, but it inherently brings three issues: the 'HODLer' mentality of the OG team makes them more focused on the cost-benefit ratio, so once the price surges, it easily triggers divestment impulses; the information flow under the OG network is more closed-loop and cautious, less inclined to actively play the Narrative card; prioritizing on-chain operations, it appears lagging in terms of financial disclosure efficiency and capital market operations.

This is precisely the deep-rooted reason why in the third quarter of 2025, SharpLink appears half a beat slow in the face of BitMine's rhythmic 'disclosure—financing—acquisition—price increase' strategy.

Vitalik Buterin Image Source: coingecko

Looking at BitMine, it almost arrives on the ETH track in a 'typical Wall Street capital entry' manner. First, the PIPE financing structure itself is full of financial engineering implications: adopting a cash+warrrant+ETH combination subscription structure; participants include Galaxy Digital, ARK Invest, Founders Fund, and other mainstream US stock structure investors; transparent chip distribution, setting lock-up periods conducive to valuation model stability.

We can also get a glimpse from the backgrounds of its board members — many of whom come from investment banks, private equity, hedge funds, familiar with PIPE financing, regulatory arbitrage, and refinancing cycles. In their eyes, ETH is not a "digital currency" but a new type of financial asset that is "priceable, tradable, and cashable."

Between the OG and Wall Street, it's not just a difference in rhythm but a conflict of motives.

This forced Sharplink to start thinking, is it not enough to just have OG's ETH?

They seem to have given a new answer to this question — starting from August 7th, they introduced new Wall Street institutional investors to participate in their $200 million registered direct offering.

This is a "power transition" in the Ethereum narrative: from the hands of the OG, gradually moving towards capital that can articulate financial reports, tell a good story, and execute structures.

The future may not necessarily be dominated solely by BitMine, but what can be foreseen is this: the next round of ETH price setting dominance will no longer be decided by the crypto OGs but by those who control the Narrative structure, those who can secure more Wall Street funding, those who hold more "narrative chips."

How to Seize the ETH Throne in 35 Days?

On July 1, 2025, BitMine's ETH holdings were zero; by August 5, they disclosed holdings of 833,137 ETH. In just 35 days, this company, which previously had no crypto footprint in the open market, transformed from an "unknown" to the "world's largest Ethereum treasury company," surpassing SharpLink.

Let's break down in detail what BitMine did?

BitMine's moves were extremely precise. During its 35-day surge period, there was almost a rhythmic announcement disclosure every 7 days, each one advancing the script like a premeditated play: Week 1 (July 1 - July 7): $250 million PIPE financing closed, publicly disclosed completion of initial purchase of approximately 150,000 ETH; Week 2 (July 8 - July 14): Additional purchase of 266,000 ETH, total holdings surpassed 560,000 coins; Week 3 (July 15 - July 21): Further purchase of 272,000 ETH, cumulative holdings exceeding 830,000 coins;

These three rounds of disclosures did not follow the routine updates in quarterly reports but were inserted into the market through media, official websites, investor relations letters, etc., to convey a clear signal: "We are continuously buying ETH on a large scale, and we are the leader in institutional holding growth."

This approach has disrupted the traditional disclosure logic of treasury companies that used to "wait for financial results," instead shifting to a "Narrative-driven" rhythmic offensive.

More importantly, its buying rhythm is highly synchronous with market trends. BitMine's average buy-in price is not a blind sweep but rather utilizes a market adjustment window to "pace" the market and buy at low points. According to a PIPE filing, its average ETH purchase price is $3,491, precisely avoiding the peak phase while also hitting a sensitive range before ETH enters a new uptrend channel.

This precise positioning is not accidental but rather complements Galaxy Digital's full set of tools, including "OTC structure design + on-chain delivery + custody settlement," enabling it to efficiently absorb large amounts of ETH without causing drastic price fluctuations.

At the same time, BitMine's stock price has explosively grown in sync with its disclosures. Starting from $4 in early July to $41 in early August, the price surged by over 900%. Its total market value also jumped from less than $200 million to over $30 billion.

More notably, after each BitMine holdings update, its stock price not only rose but the ETH spot market also saw a synchronous surge in trading volume. The market began to see "BitMine buy-in—ETH price rise" as a set of logically related events, further strengthening the closed loop of the Narrative.

This "market expectation—structure disclosure—asset purchase—price feedback" positive cycle is seen by Wall Street as a classic case of market value reshaping. However, what sets it apart is that it reshaped not only the company's valuation but also reshaped the market dominance of the ETH treasury in a Narrative manner.

BitMine is no longer just a holding company; it is becoming a key hub of the "Ethereum institutional structure." In this process, it does not wait for market recognition but actively "manufactures" recognition through rhythm, disclosure, narrative, structure, and pricing models.

In summary: This is not an "awaiting price rise" accumulation but a "forced price rise" structure.

From nothing to something, from buying coins to boosting valuation, from disclosure to leading pricing, BitMine has set a template for a "structural rise" in just 35 days.

And it might be the earliest financial prototype in the next Ethereum bull market narrative.

Tom Lee: The New Market Maker Advocate

As the Co-Founder and Head of Research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, Tom Lee is one of the most influential figures bridging the gap between the traditional stock market and the crypto market. He is well-versed in macro data, media manipulation, and most importantly, he knows how to spin a bullish narrative convincingly and eloquently.

His claim to fame doesn't come from accurate predictions but from high frequency, compelling storytelling, and a strong bullish stance. The popular saying about him goes, "Tom Lee may not always be right, but he is always early, loud, and memorable in what he says."

One of his most iconic tools is the Bitcoin Misery Index (BMI) — a "market sentiment index" designed by Lee himself. It quantifies the market's "misery index" by combining various data points such as trading volume, returns, and volatility.

The primary significance of this index is not to predict price movements but to provide a data-backed endorsement for his bullish calls. For example, when the BMI is extremely low (<27), he would say, "This is the bottoming opportunity for long-term holders"; when the BMI is very high (>80), he would instead claim, "This signifies the arrival of a structural bull market"; if prices fall, he would say, "Sentiment has not fully capitulated"; if prices rise, he would argue, "On-chain structures are mending."

Regardless of market movements, he always has something to say; no matter the market conditions, he manages to stay bullish.

Tom Lee Image Source: coingape

Tom Lee's style of "structured bullish calls" has several prominent features.

Always provide a new price target. He once predicted in 2017 that Bitcoin "would hit $250,000 by 2022," then revised it to "expecting $200,000 by 2024" in 2021; when the market underperforms, he references factors such as halving cycles, inflation adjustments, and Fed policies to "postpone" expectations while upgrading the rationale.

Platform collaboration + frequent appearances. He is a regular guest on CNBC's "Fast Money" and a frequent commentator for Bloomberg; his own Twitter account (@fundstrat) is updated almost daily, accompanied by YouTube interviews for visual dissemination of opinions using short video summaries and charts; he also regularly updates Fundstrat's official website with chart-based data summaries for media re-quoting.

Emotion drives retail investors, narrative drives institutions. Retail investors heed his bottom calls; institutions listen to his structural narratives. He can use the same set of models to create psychological expectations that are applicable to different audience groups, forming a "multi-layered narrative nesting." For example, during a price crash, he repeatedly emphasized the "institutional buying window" while calling on retail investors to "not miss the opportunity to buy before the halving."

From Forecaster to Belief Builder. He doesn't just say "it will rise," he will tell you "the rise is structurally sound," "ETH will become the new anchor of tech stocks," "BTC is the new generation's digital gold." He transforms the "outcome-oriented" long call into an "belief-oriented" asset reappraisal.

And in the 2024–2025 Ethereum narrative construction, Tom Lee once again becomes a key driver. He doesn't just say ETH will rise, but he says "ETH will become a part of enterprise balance sheets," a viewpoint that directly provides public opinion for narrative-driven operations like BitMine.

Throughout BitMine's rise, we can almost see the deep shadow of Tom Lee's rhetoric logic: using "structural indicators" such as ETH-per-share to measure fundamentals; using "cycle logic" to explain the rationale behind rapid appreciation; using "institutional entry" to conceal the aggressive strategy behind high-cost acquisitions.

Tom Lee is definitely the King of Narrative, relying not on being right, but on being influential.

Epilogue

In traditional financial markets, asset prices are determined by profitability and cash flow; but in today's cryptocurrency world, price often exists ahead of value, and narrative often dominates the generation of valuation.

The rise of BitMine is not just a change in the ETH number on the company's balance sheet, but a narrative reconstruction around "how to make institutions understand ETH." SharpLink adheres to old logic, slowly accumulating coins on-chain; BitMine, however, dances to the beat of structure and emotion, swiftly completing a "consensus turnover."

This is not a question of who is more honest, but a question of who can more quickly, more clearly, and more structurally, articulate "cryptographic assets" as "financial assets."

And behind this, another round of even greater Narrative race is quietly brewing: who will be the "long-term valuation anchor" for ETH on Wall Street? Who will build the next mainstream model for "ETH-per-share"? Who can turn the liquidity narrative into structural revenue? Who will ultimately become the next round's dominant authority in institutional pricing discourse?

The market will provide the answer. But one thing is certain: this Ethereum Treasury Battle is no longer just a relay baton of on-chain faith.

The pricing of the Ethereum ceiling no longer belongs to the OG who first called for a bullish position, but to the Wall Street capital that tells the most compelling story.

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