BitMine’s $65M ETH Kraken Exodus Signals Major Accumulation Phase

Another whale-sized withdrawal hits the books—BitMine just yanked $65 million worth of Ethereum from Kraken in a single transaction. Not a casual trade. Not a rebalance. This is capital moving with purpose.

The Cold Storage Gambit

Exchanges are for trading. Wallets are for holding. When an entity shifts nine figures from the former to the latter, the message is clear: accumulation mode is active. This isn't speculation; it's strategic positioning. The move reduces immediate sell-side pressure on the exchange and signals a long-term conviction play that bypasses short-term market noise.

Reading the On-Chain Tea Leaves

Institutional players don't make headlines by accident. A withdrawal of this magnitude is a public statement written in blockchain data. It follows a pattern of similar large-scale accumulations, suggesting a coordinated strategy rather than isolated bets. The market watches these flows like hawks—each major movement recalibrates sentiment and, often, price trajectories.

The Bigger Picture: A Vote of Confidence

Why now? Why ETH? The move reads as a calculated endorsement of Ethereum's core infrastructure and its roadmap. While traders chase the next shiny meme coin, serious capital is building positions in foundational layer-1 assets. It's the financial equivalent of buying the steel mill instead of betting on the latest skyscraper design—a classic, if cynical, play on infrastructure over hype.

So, while Wall Street analysts debate P/E ratios over lunch, the real action is happening on-chain. One wallet, one transaction, $65 million deeper into the digital future. The accumulation game is on, and the players are writing the rules with every block they confirm.

Bitmine ETH accumulation hits 4.07M ETH

Bitmine recently accumulated another 24,068 ETH on Wednesday, valued at approximately $80.57 million. The firm now holds 4.07 million ETH worth approximately $13.37 billion and represents 3.36% of ETH’s total supply. Tom Lee’s firm now ranks as the second-largest crypto treasury, behind Strategy, which holds 687,410 BTC, worth approximately $65.4 billion. 

It seems that Tom Lee(@fundstrat)'s #Bitmine bought another 20,000 $ETH($65.4M) from #Kraken 3 hours ago.https://t.co/TQmP08vgjvhttps://t.co/DPN3ZPwXAk pic.twitter.com/ovs3VUqJu6

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) January 16, 2026

The ethereum token has jumped over 6% over the past week following a series of accumulations recorded by the treasury firm. At the time of publication, ETH was down 0.64% to $3,293. 

The recent moves follow Bitmines’ plans to launch its MAVAN (Made in America Validator Network) staking solution this year, in order to maintain its lead as a global crypto treasury firm. Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine, pitched the MAVAN solution as a design strategy that moves the treasury firm from accumulation to monetization through validator operations. 

“We continue to make progress on our staking solution known as The Made in America Validator Network (MAVAN). This will be the ‘best-in-class’ solution offering secure staking infrastructure and will be deployed in early calendar 2026.”

–Tom Lee, Chairman of Bitmine

The launch of the MAVAN solution will help move his firm to become the largest staking provider across the crypto landscape, according to the Chairman. During the recent annual meeting on 15th January, Tom Lee urged Bitmine’s shareholders to vote to increase the authorized shares. 

He explained that Bitmine’s charter has an unusual feature requiring 50% of all outstanding shares to support a share increase. According to him, the clause limits the authorized share increase; therefore, there is a need to pursue the increment immediately to avoid slowing accumulation. 

Bitmine’s stock jumps over 4% this week 

Bitmine’s current total staked ETH stands at 2,155,656, valued at $7 billion, according to Arkham Intelligence data. This represents an increase of more than half a million since last week. So far, the CESR (Composite Ethereum staking rate) is 2.81% according to Quatrefoil data. Tom Lee outlined that if ETH is fully staked by MAVAN and its staking partners, the firm could realize an annual staking fee of $374 million at a 2.81% CESR. 

Bitmine’s stock has jumped 0.94% today following the news of accumulation trading at $31.16. The stock has recorded an over 4% increase, with an average volume of $45.39 million over the past five days following a series of accumulations.

Meanwhile, Ethereum-focused treasuries hold approximately 13.1 million ETH, including those focused on staking and ETF strategies. Sharplink is the largest competitor to Bitmine, with current accumulation standing at 863.02 K ETH valued at $2.84 billion, followed by The Ether Machine treasury firm. The Ether Machine now holds 496.1K ETH, valued at $1.64 billion. 

U.S. Ethereum ETFs now hold approximately 6.31 million ETH valued at approximately $20.67 billion. That is roughly 5.2% of the total ETH supply. Based on data delivered by SoSoValue, BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) has attracted $12.94 billion since its launch, representing more than 50% of the market share across ETH ETFs.

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