Asia’s $1B Ethereum Treasury Plan Stalls as BitMine Accelerates Accumulation Amid Market Pullback

Institutional Hesitation Forms Sharp Contrast With Aggressive Corporate ETH Buying

TL;DR

• Asia’s planned $1 billion Ethereum digital asset treasury has been paused as market sentiment weakens and risk appetite cools.
• BitMine Immersion Technologies continues to accumulate ETH aggressively, adding 21,054 ETH as prices slide.
• Market turbulence, ETF outflows, and shifting crypto price index readings highlight a growing divergence between institutional caution and corporate accumulation strategies.

A high-profile effort by a coalition of Asia’s most influential crypto investors to assemble a $1 billion Ethereum digital asset treasury has entered a holding pattern, reflecting how quickly sentiment shifted following months of severe market turbulnce. The initiative, which involved heavyweight figures such as Huobi founder Li Lin, Fenbushi Capital founder Shen Bo, HashKey Group chief executive Xiao Feng, and Meitu founder Cai Wensheng, initially sought to establish a Nasdaq-listed vehicle that would hold and manage a large ETH reserve. Avenir Capital reportedly committed up to $200 million, and the proposed treasury aimed to leverage Ethereum’s staking yield to generate returns in the 3%–5% range, which analysts estimated could translate into $30 million–$50 million annually on a $1 billion position. The group had already identified a suitable listed shell company for the structure and described the infrastructure as ready to launch once market conditions improved.

Multiple sources published on November 19 indicated that the founding group opted to pause the initiative after concluding that the current environment carried “unnecessary risk.” Volatility swept across digital asset markets since October, with forced liquidations erasing tens of billions in leveraged positions and dragging broader sentiment sharply lower. The slide pushed the crypto price index into sustained risk-off territory, with ETH struggling to maintain momentum after a string of weekly declines. Market watchers pointed to weakening equity benchmarks, a cooldown in institutional flows, and ETF outflows exceeding $500 million at various points in November as evidence that buyers had stepped back. DeFi activity provided little support either, with total value locked dropping 24% over 30 days to about $74 billion and October DApp revenues falling 18% to $80.7 million. 

Analysts at Bernstein added another layer of caution earlier in the year, warning that corporate Ethereum treasuries carry liquidity and lock-up risk due to staking mechanics—risks not typically associated with Bitcoin-focused treasury strategies—despite the potential for yield-based income. Their research noted that corporate ETH treasuries collectively hold roughly 876,000 ETH, or about 0.9% of supply, highlighting the growing but still young market segment.

A separate storyline emerged as BitMine Immersion Technologies, a publicly traded firm led by long-time market strategist Tom Lee, moved in the opposite direction. A newly identified company wallet added 21,054 ETH via transfers from Kraken, even as ETH hovered near $3,073 after a 23.93% decline over 30 days and an 11.83% weekly drop. 

Traders highlighted support near $3,000 and $2,900 and resistance around $3,800, with a deeper corrective zone near $2,150 if downside momentum accelerated further. Lee has repeatedly argued that periods of heightened volatility create asymmetric opportunities, a view that guided BitMine’s earlier October purchase of 202,037 ETH at an average of roughly $4,154, a haul then valued at approximately $827 million. Those purchases pushed BitMine’s total holdings to more than 3 million ETH—about 2.5% of circulating supply—valued at more than $13 billion at the time.

The contrast between the two developments underscores diverging risk appetites within the institutional landscape. A regionally driven collective of veteran investors opted to delay a major strategic initiative tied to Ethereum’s long-term adoption, citing market uncertainty and jurisdictional challenges such as limited support for digital asset treasury structures in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, a U.S.-listed corporation maintained an accumulation strategy even as the coin market cap for ETH and other majors contracted through November, suggesting a stronger corporate willingness to lean into short-term dislocation. The tension between caution and conviction arrives at a moment when global investors remain sensitive to macroeconomic pressure, shifting ETF flows, and deteriorating liquidity conditions across digital assets. As sentiment fluctuates and the crypto price index reflects the broader repositioning, the paused treasury plan and BitMine’s continued buying illustrate how different institutional actors interpret the same market landscape through sharply different strategic lenses.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.