Headline: Big Buyers and a Cautious Exit — Ethereum Sees Contrasting Bets as On‑Chain Activity Holds Firm
David Hoffman, co-founder of newsletter Bankless, quietly exited his last Ethereum position this week, declaring that “the investment case for ETH had largely played out.” His sell-off marked a notable contrast to a wave of corporate accumulation that pushed some public firms deeper into Ether exposure.
Nasdaq-listed miner and crypto investor Bit Digital led the buying charge: on May 11 the company spent about $20 million to add 8,568 ETH at an average price of $2,334 per token, lifting its treasury to roughly 158,462 ETH. CEO Sam Tabar said the purchase lowered the firm’s average acquisition cost and fits into Bit Digital’s broader plan to grow net asset value per share by combining Ethereum treasury management, AI and high-performance computing infrastructure, and strategic acquisitions. Bit Digital’s WhiteFiber subsidiary also trades publicly under the ticker WYFI.
That bolt-on buy also reshuffled the public rankings. According to CoinGecko data, Bit Digital moved ahead of Coinbase Global — which held about 151,175 ETH — to become the fourth-largest public corporate holder of Ether.
Other big buyers have been even more aggressive. Bitmine Immersion Technologies completed its largest ETH purchase of the year earlier this week, adding 111,942 ETH. Chairman Tom Lee framed the move as a bet on an upcoming “crypto supercycle” driven by tokenization and AI-powered agents. CoinGecko currently lists Bitmine Immersion as the largest public Ethereum treasury holder, with more than 5 million ETH.
All of this accumulation is happening while Ether trades well below recent peaks. ETH was around $2,013 at the time of reporting — roughly 30% down year-to-date and nearly 60% below its August 2025 high near $4,946.
Standard Chartered sees a disconnect between price and network health. In a report published Thursday the bank noted that transaction activity and total value locked on Ethereum remain close to record levels despite the token’s sharp slide. Geoff Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, maintained a price target of $4,000 for ETH by the end of 2026 and an ambitious $40,000 by 2030, arguing that growth in stablecoin usage and tokenization could help close the gap between network utility and token valuation.
Hoffman’s departure reflects a different concern: while he expects Ethereum’s ecosystem to continue expanding via stablecoins, tokenization, and Layer 2s, he worries that only a limited portion of that growth may flow through to ETH holders directly.
Why it matters
- The market is seeing divergent strategies: some investors are trimming exposure while corporates and miners are doubling down on ETH as a treasury asset and strategic play for AI/HPC integration.
- On-chain metrics suggest robust network usage, but token price is detached — creating both an opportunity for long-term accumulation and a challenge for valuation models.
- Analyst targets remain bullish over multi-year horizons, but near-term dynamics could stay volatile given the disconnect between usage and price.
Image: Trail Runner Magazine. Chart: TradingView.
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