Wall Street Whale Devours Ethereum: The Battle for Pricing Power Behind 830,000 ETH Bought in 35 ...

BitMine shocked markets by buying 830,000 ETH in 35 days, overtaking SharpLink and shifting Ethereum’s pricing power toward Wall Street capital.

SharpLink represents OG HODL ethos, while BitMine uses Wall Street financial engineering, redefining Ethereum as a tradable financial asset instead of a community-held currency.

With treasuries staking ETH and injecting liquidity into DeFi, Wall Street’s growing control reshapes Ethereum’s ecosystem, raising both growth opportunities and systemic risks.

On July 1, 2025, BitMine held zero ETH. Thirty-five days later, this little-known company held 830,000 ETH, worth about $6.6 billion. It overtook long-time leader SharpLink and became the world’s largest ETH treasury.

This sudden power shift is not only a change in numbers. It shows a fundamental move in who sets ETH prices—from crypto OGs who believe in “HODL” to Wall Street capital that excels at financial engineering.

TWO LINEAGES, TWO WORLDVIEWS: A PHILOSOPHICAL DUEL BETWEEN OG STACKING AND WALL STREET HARVESTING

If BitMine stands for a Wall Street–style structural raid, SharpLink is the continuation of the “ETH native” logic. The split between the two is not only pace of buying and disclosure style. It is also different roots and different investment beliefs.

SharpLink, as a “crypto OG” representative, has shareholders across the entire Ethereum stack. They include Consensys, founded by ETH co-founder Joseph Lubin (behind MetaMask, Infura, and other core tools), infrastructure funds focused on Layer 2 and DeFi like Pantera and Arrington, and firms pushing ETH financialization such as Galaxy Digital and Ondo Finance.

This capital alignment amplifies SharpLink’s “ETH treasury” story and gives it leverage in buying, staking, and trimming. Its positions reflect classic OG thinking: accumulate through internal transfers, small but steady buys over a long time, most cost basis in the $1,500–$1,800 range, with some even below $1,000.

By contrast, BitMine entered ETH like “typical Wall Street capital.” Its PIPE financing structure is heavy on financial engineering: a cash + warrants + ETH subscription mix, with participants like Galaxy Digital, ARK Invest, and Founders Fund—mainstream U.S. equity investors.

The board tells the same story—many come from investment banks, private equity, and hedge funds. They know PIPEs, regulatory arbitrage, and refinancing cycles. In their view, ETH is not “digital money.” It is a financial asset that can be priced, traded, and monetized.

THE FINANCIAL ENGINEERING ONSLAUGHT: HOW BITMINE REBUILT ETH PRICING POWER IN 35 DAYS

BitMine’s pace was precise. In its 35-day burst, it posted almost one update every seven days. Each one felt scripted. Week 1 (Jul 1–Jul 7): a $250 million PIPE closed and the first buy of about 150,000 ETH. Week 2 (Jul 8–Jul 14): an extra 266,000 ETH; total exceeded 560,000. Week 3 (Jul 15–Jul 21): another 272,000 ETH; cumulative holdings reached 830,000+.

This narrative-led, rhythmic attack broke the old “wait for the quarterly report” model. Its build pace matched market moves. According to PIPE filings, the average buy price was $3,491—avoiding local highs and catching the turn into a new uptrend. This precision came from a full toolchain provided by Galaxy Digital: OTC structuring + on-chain settlement + custody. It let BitMine absorb size without sharp price spikes.

Meanwhile, BitMine’s stock moved with each disclosure. From $4 in early July to $41 in early August—up over 900%. Market cap jumped from under $200 million to above $3 billion. After each holding update, not only did its stock rise, but spot ETH also traded up on higher volume. The market began to link “BitMine buys → ETH goes up,” which closed the Narrative loop.

This “expectations → structural disclosure → asset buying → price feedback” flywheel is a textbook case of value re-rating. BitMine is no longer just a holder. It is becoming a hub of the “institutional ETH structure.”

THE NEW MARKET WHALE SPOKESPERSON: TOM LEE AND WALL STREET’S NARRATIVE PLAYBOOK

Tom Lee, co-founder and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, bridges U.S. equities and crypto. He knows macro data, media rhythm, and how to make “up” sound reasonable. He is famous not for precise calls, but for high frequency, strong narrative, and mindshare. People say: “Tom Lee may not be right, but he is early, loud, and memorable.”

His signature tool is the Bitcoin Misery Index (BMI). It blends volume, returns, and volatility to score sentiment. The value is not prediction. It gives “data backing” to his bullish tone. When BMI is very low (<27), he says “it is a long-term buy.” When BMI is very high (>80), he says “a structural bull market is here.” If price falls, “sentiment is not fully reset.” If price rises, “on-chain structure is healing.” Up or down, there is a bull case.

In BitMine’s rise, we can see this playbook: use structural indicators to define “fundamentals,” use cycle logic to explain fast rallies, and use “institutions entering” to cover aggressive, high-cost buying.

ECOSYSTEM REBUILD: HOW WALL STREET CAPITAL IS REMAKING THE ETH VALUE CHAIN

After Wall Street took pricing power, Ethereum’s value chain is changing. Digital-asset treasuries now hold over 2% of circulating ETH; two months ago it was only 0.2%. The first change is the capitalization of staking yield. Unlike passive BTC reserves, ETH treasuries deploy on-chain. SharpLink Gaming has staked most of its holdings. BTCS Inc. earns through Rocket Pool. The Ether Machine and others are building on-chain asset-management stacks.

At a $4,000 ETH price and a 30% staking ratio, these treasuries could earn about $79 million per year. More important, funds enter DeFi through liquid staking tokens (like stETH). On Aave v3, pools built on such tokens have expanded to 1.1 million ETH. This gives firms leverage on top of staking yield.

This new capital structure brings both deeper liquidity and new risks. The upside shows already: treasury inflows lifted Aave’s ETH lending depth by 17%. Ethereum mainnet daily transactions hit a record 1.9 million. Gas stayed low, helped by L2 scaling. But if corporate treasuries hold 5% of circulating ETH, off-chain shocks will hit on-chain systems. Stock crashes, debt stress, or regulation could trigger forced selling. Some buyers use equity financing (PIPE) to fund purchases. If their mNAV (market cap / value of ETH holdings) stays below 1, the capital chain looks fragile.

As BitMine keeps buying (now at 1.5 million ETH) and even targets 5% of circulating ETH, Wall Street’s grip will only tighten. Who will be ETH’s “long-term anchor” on Wall Street? Who will build the next mainstream valuation model? Who can turn the liquidity story into steady, structural income?

The answers will decide who leads the next round of pricing power. One thing is clear: pricing power is moving from on-chain consensus to Wall Street trading desks, and it will not reverse. The winners will not be the earliest OG cheerleaders. They will be the Wall Street players who tell the best story.

〈Wall Street Whale Devours Ethereum: The Battle for Pricing Power Behind 830,000 ETH Bought in 35 Days〉這篇文章最早發佈於《CoinRank》。