Corporate Bitcoin and Ethereum Treasuries Reshape Year-End Crypto Markets as Strategy, Bitmine, and Metaplanet Dive In

Balance Sheets, Not Traders, Drive Late-December Crypto Accumulation

TL;DR

• Strategy added 1,229 BTC for about $109 million, lifting total holdings to 672,497 BTC as Bitmine’s Ethereum stash reached 4.11 million ETH, or roughly 3.41% of circulating supply.
• Bitmine began large-scale ETH staking with over 408,000 tokens already deployed, while total crypto and cash holdings climbed to $13.2 billion.
• Metaplanet disclosed $451 million in bitcoin purchases during Q4, underscoring a global trend of corporate balance sheets shaping the crypto price index.

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Corporate treasury activity intensified during the final weeks of December, highlighting how balance-sheet decisions are increasingly steering crypto price behavior as year-end liquidity conditions set the tone across major digital assets. 

Strategy disclosed that it resumed bitcoin accumulation between Dec. 22 and Dec. 28, purchasing 1,229 BTC for roughly $108.8 million at an average price near $88,568 per coin. The acquisition followed a brief pause aimed at reinforcing cash reserves and pushed the company’s total bitcoin holdings to 672,497 BTC, accumulated at an average cost basis of about $74,997 per bitcoin. Funding came from Strategy’s at-the-market equity program, with 663,450 shares of Class A common stock sold over the same period, generating proceeds that closely matched the bitcoin outlay. Cash reserves now stand at approximately $2.19 billion, underscoring a tactical approach to capital deployment rather than any retreat from the firm’s long-standing bitcoin treasury strategy.

Ethereum accumulation unfolded on an even larger scale at Bitmine Immersion Technologies, where a distinct treasury philosophy is taking shape. The company reported adding 44,463 ETH in late December, bringing total holdings to roughly 4.11 million ETH, equivalent to about 3.41% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. At prevailing market levels, the Ethereum treasury alone was valued at just over $12 billion, contributing to combined crypto and cash holdings of approximately $13.2 billion as of Dec. 28. 

Bitmine confirmed that more than 408,000 ETH has already been committed to staking, generating yield ahead of the planned launch of its “Made in America Validator Network” in early 2026. Chairman Tom Lee pointed to year-end tax-loss selling as a source of temporary market softness that allowed accumulation at scale, even as the company’s equity performance lagged broader crypto price movements and shifts in coin market cap rankings.

Parallel accumulation activity unfolded in Japan, where Metaplanet disclosed that it acquired 4,279 bitcoin during the fourth quarter, deploying $451.06 million at an average purchase price of $105,412 per BTC, according to a public statement from Chief Executive Simon Gerovich. The buying spree lifted the company’s total bitcoin holdings to 35,102 BTC, accumulated at a combined cost of $3.78 billion, or an average cost basis of $107,606 per bitcoin. At market prices around the time of publication, the firm’s total bitcoin position was valued at approximately $3.06 billion, underscoring the scale of its balance-sheet exposure.

The purchases were executed against a volatile market backdrop that saw bitcoin fall sharply from its October all-time high of $126,080 to below $85,000 within weeks, before stabilizing near $87,400, down 2.4% over the prior 24 hours. At that level, Metaplanet’s fourth-quarter acquisitions were worth roughly $374 million, implying a 17% unrealized decline relative to the capital deployed. The company funded the purchases through a mix of loans and new stock issuance, tying its bitcoin accumulation directly to broader capital markets rather than operating solely from internal cash flow.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.