Ethereum's continuous decline has resulted in an unrealized loss of approximately $8.8 billion for Bitmine, with institutional holding pressure continuing to intensify.

Deep Tide TechFlow News, February 23 — According to Cointelegraph, as the crypto market continues to decline, corporate Ethereum reserve companies are facing increasing pressure. The world’s largest ETH holding institution, Bitmine, has a paper loss of approximately $8.8 billion. ETH’s current price is well below its average acquisition cost of $3,843, with a 60% decline over the past six months. Despite the ongoing unrealized losses, Bitmine increased its holdings by 45,749 ETH last week, with an average cost of about $1,992, indicating confidence in Ethereum’s long-term value. Major shareholders such as Morgan Stanley, Ark Investment Management, and BlackRock all increased their stakes in Bitmine in Q4 2025. Over the past six months, Bitmine’s stock price has fallen approximately 59%.

Other ETH holding institutions are also under pressure: the second-largest Ethereum reserve company, SharpLink Gaming, currently has an unrealized loss of about $1.4 billion, with an average acquisition cost of $3,609; the third-largest holder, The Ether Machine, owns 496,712 ETH, with an unrealized loss close to $948 million, and an average cost of about $3,788.

Crypto research firm 10x Research states that Ethereum’s current price has reached a critical valuation and cost benchmark range, and the market is at a key point to determine whether this decline is a cyclical correction or a structural weakening. On-chain data shows that “smart money” is currently net short ETH by about $67 million; however, at the same time, whale addresses have increased their spot holdings more than sixfold over the past week, with a total purchase of about $44 million. Additionally, new wallets created in the past 15 days have net bought approximately $245 million worth of spot ETH.