Bitcoin Rally Puts Miners Back in Spotlight and Spurs Ether Accumulation

Bitcoin Rally Puts Miners Back in Spotlight

Bitcoin surged approximately 23% in late August, boosting mining stocks by up to 67% and reversing prior trends that favored AI-related infrastructure firms. According to BlocksBridge Consulting, companies like Canaan, American Bitcoin, and Cango saw gains between 41% and 67%, whereas AI-focused and high-performance computing firms exhibited flat or negative returns.

The rally was driven by three main factors: an expansion of US Treasury liquidity-supporting bond buybacks, renewed regulatory optimism after a White House crypto meeting, and a sharp short squeeze that liquidated over $1.6 billion in positions. This dynamic underscores miners’ continued sensitivity to Bitcoin price moves despite their previous pivot to AI sectors.

However, ongoing costs associated with building AI data centers remain a risk for mining companies diversifying away from Bitcoin alone.

Strive and Strategy Increase Bitcoin Holdings

During the last week of August, Strive and Strategy purchased substantial volumes of Bitcoin for their corporate treasuries. Strive acquired 1,800 BTC for around $143 million, while Strategy bought 4,603 BTC. This brought Strive’s total holdings to 23,156 BTC, ranking it as the fifth-largest publicly traded corporate holder, and pushed Strategy’s holdings above 845,000 BTC following four BTC sales since May.

The average purchase price was about $79,431 per BTC for Strive and $80,318 for Strategy, reflecting prevailing market conditions. These acquisitions coincided with a broader rally in digital assets beginning August 19, spurred by the U.S. Treasury’s announcement to double certain long-term bond buybacks.

G7 Consortium Plans Stablecoin Launch by 2027

A coalition of 21 major financial institutions, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Citi, plans to form a new company to develop US dollar-denominated stablecoins. They aim to launch this stablecoin in the first half of 2027, eventually expanding to other G7 currencies like the euro. The project targets wholesale, institutional, and retail clients to facilitate cross-border payments and digital asset settlements.

This move builds on a prior initiative announced in October, where 10 banks explored issuing 1:1 reserve-backed digital currencies on public blockchains. The expanded consortium spans North America, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, intending to comply with both the US GENIUS Act and the EU’s MiCA regulatory frameworks.

Bitmine Nears 5% of Ether Supply After Long Buying Streak

Bitmine has been consistently purchasing Ether for 65 consecutive weeks, adding 53,501 ETH last week amid a market recovery. Its holdings now exceed 5.9 million ETH, valued at approximately $14.8 billion based on the $2,511 ETH price as of Sunday.

Bitmine owns about 4.9% of Ethereum’s circulating supply of 120.7 million tokens, nearing its stated goal of 5%. Bitmine chairman Tom Lee highlighted that since June 30, Ether, Bitcoin, and Solana have been the top-performing major crypto assets, setting the stage for institutional investors to increase crypto exposure.

Despite the aggressive accumulation, Bitmine holds roughly $5.1 billion in unrealized losses on its Ether portfolio, reflecting sustained purchases during the market downturn that began in late 2022.