Ethereum Plunge Sparks BitMine’s $1.5B Buying Frenzy — Defying Market Warnings

While Ethereum tanks, BitMine goes bargain hunting—dropping a staggering $1.5 billion into the digital fire sale.

Contrarian Play or Reckless Gamble?

The mining giant's massive acquisition spree defies conventional wisdom and analyst caution. They're scooping up ETH like it's going out of style—which, according to the warnings, it might be.

Numbers Don't Lie

That $1.5 billion commitment represents either brilliant market timing or the most expensive 'I told you so' in crypto history. Either way, it's moving markets and raising eyebrows across Wall Street.

Because nothing says 'sound investment strategy' like doubling down during a crash—just ask your local hedge fund manager currently explaining their third yacht purchase to angry investors.

Image source: Getty Images.

How exposed is IBM to the tariff tango?

There are different ways to figure out IBM's tariff exposure. I could take the complicated web of current and future tariff rates, apply them to each of IBM's products and services in various countries, and create an intimidating spreadsheet. Or I could look for management's statements about the tariff challenge.

The company helped me out by addressing the unpredictable tariff policies in the first-quarter earnings call. This call took place on April 23, three weeks after Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement.

"Over the last several years, we have strategically diversified and streamlined our supply chain," said CFO Jim Kavanaugh. "Goods imported to the U.S. represent less than 5% of our overall spend and under current U.S. tariff policy, the impact to IBM is minimal."

Why IBM shrugs at tariff headlines

That brief statement means a couple of things to me:

• It's IBM's only official discussion of tariffs in 2025, even though the trade expenses have shifted significantly since April. In other words, the tariff issue is hardly worth mentioning.
• Applying tariff rates to "less than 5%" of IBM's global spending is not exactly nothing, of course. I'd hate to cover that multimillion-dollar bill from my personal accounts. IBM still builds mainframe computers, requiring parts from tariff-laden countries like China or the European Union. But the cost of products and services stopped at 16.3% of total revenues last year, and 5% of that gross expense ratio is less than 1% of IBM's incoming revenues. Even if every tariff were a beefy 100% surcharge, that's a pretty manageable extra cost -- and most of the international trade fees are far smaller.

IBM plays it safe anyway

I'm still waiting for IBM to issue further updates about the tariff situation, but I'm not holding my breath in anticipation. Yes, the company is tremendously global, but it can still operate comfortably without running into game-changing tariff expenses.

At the same time, IBM is taking action to minimize even this modest financial impact. Kavanaugh also noted that IBM is looking into alternative sources for tariff-laden components. Every dollar counts, you know.

Furthermore, Big Blue announced a $150 billion American investment plan at the end of April. The company will MOVE significant manufacturing and research assets to domestic soil over the next five years, starting with $30 billion of mainframe development and quantum computing research operations. Again, the tariffs don't really hurt, but it can't be a bad idea to minimize the financial sting anyway. Plus, this homebound manufacturing move might unlock unrelated favors from the Trump team.

So, it makes sense to take some tariff-dodging action, but IBM WOULD barely notice the extra costs anyhow. I don't expect Big Blue to suffer a tariff-related downturn any time soon.