BitMines’ $15B Ethereum bet suffers a $3.5B loss – Is a relief likely?

The Q4 2025 crypto market rout is testing the patience of digital asset treasuries (DATs). BitMine Immersion, the world’s largest Ethereum treasury firm, has recorded a substantial $3.5 billion unrealized loss on its ETH holdings. 

Over the past two months, its unrealized loss has hovered around $3.5 billion and $4.2 billion as ETH consolidated around $2.6K-$2.75K after a 40% dump in Q4. 

BitMine Chair Tom Lee has been a vocal Ethereum [ETH] bull, betting on tokenization and the stablecoin boom as long-term tailwinds for the asset. To back his conviction, the firm invested $14.6 billion to acquire 3.7 million ETH. 

The BitMine bet is now down by over $3.5 billion, but Lee continues to scale his stash. However, other distressed ETH treasuries, such as SharpLink and ETHZilla, have been forced to dump their holdings and abandon the ETH strategy altogether. 

In fact, experts had feared that if other firms follow suit, the bear market could worsen if they aren’t acquired by major players. Currently, treasury firms rival ETFs and own 5.6% of the total ETH supply. 

Whales ramp up ETH buys

Despite the DAT distress, the broader accumulation and institutional demand continue to rise. 

Notably, Liquid Capital founder Jack Yi confirmed that they have purchased $1.72 billion of ETH after the asset dipped to $2,600 in November. He added there was still plans to acquire $1B billion more ETH, and warned bears, 

And data backed his statement.

The pace of accumulation by whales holding 10K-100K ETH has been massive in 2025. In fact, the dip buying increased during the late 2025 drawdown, and this cohort held over 21 million ETH at press time.

ETH’s 45% upside potential

From an ETH valuation perspective, the current price of $2.9K was undervalued and a bargain for long-term investors.

In fact, out of 10 key metrics, seven flashed a “buy” signal and placed a fair value at $4.2K, suggesting a 45% upside potential. 

Notably, in March, the fair value flashed $2.5K while ETH traded at $1.5K at that time. By May, ETH reached $2,500.

In June, when the asset traded at $2.5K, the metric projected an upswing to $3.6K, a month later, the level was hit. However, past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. 

Final Thoughts 

• BitMine’s ETH holdings sat on a $3.5 billion unrealized loss amid Q4 drawdown.
• However, whales were betting big on ETH with valuation models suggesting a 45% upside potential.