Strategy and BitMine pause as 4 firms add $47.5m in Bitcoin

Strategy added no Bitcoin between May 18 and May 24, according to Lookonchain’s weekly report. 

The pause came during a week when stablecoin liquidity fell by $687 million and spot and perpetual trading volume on decentralized exchanges also declined.

The update followed a separate report that Strategy bought bonds instead of Bitcoin during the same period. Michael Saylor said on X that the company bought bonds, not Bitcoin, while crypto.news reported that Strategy moved to repurchase nearly $1.5 billion in convertible notes.

Strategy still remains the largest public Bitcoin treasury company. crypto.news reported that the firm held 843,738 BTC, worth more than $65 billion, after years of steady accumulation.

The latest pause does not erase its long-term buying record. However, it shows that the company used last week to focus on debt and capital management instead of adding more Bitcoin.

BitMine adds no Ethereum

BitMine also made no new Ethereum purchase during the same week, according to the Lookonchain report. The pause followed a period of rapid ETH accumulation by the Tom Lee-linked company.

Earlier reports showed that BitMine had already slowed its Ethereum buying pace. crypto.news reported on May 12 that the firm bought 26,659 ETH in the prior week, down from more than 100,000 ETH in each of the three earlier weekly periods.

BitMine’s slowdown came after the firm built one of the largest Ethereum treasuries among public companies. The company had amassed more than 5.2 million ETH, equal to about 4.31% of Ethereum’s circulating supply.

The company also staked more than 4.7 million ETH, making staking rewards part of its treasury model. The latest weekly pause therefore appears tied to a slower buying phase rather than a new sale.

Four public firms still buy Bitcoin

While Strategy and BitMine paused, four public companies added 612 BTC worth about $47.5 million. The buyers were Strive, The Smarter Web Company PLC, DDC Enterprise Limited, and Hyperscale Data.

The four firms together held 21,525 BTC, valued at about $1.67 billion, after the purchases. The data shows that corporate Bitcoin buying did not stop, even as the two most-watched treasury names stayed quiet.

Strive has also drawn attention in recent Bitcoin treasury coverage. A separate crypto.news report said Strive’s SATA raised enough capital to buy 537 BTC in one week, showing how smaller treasury vehicles are using capital markets to build Bitcoin exposure.

That shift matters for market watchers because treasury demand is no longer limited to Strategy. Smaller public firms are still adding Bitcoin, even when the largest buyer pauses.

Stablecoin liquidity weakens

Lookonchain’s weekly report also showed that stablecoin market cap fell by $687 million. The same report said DEX spot and perpetual trading volumes declined during the May 18 to May 24 period.

The weaker liquidity backdrop came as Bitcoin and Ethereum traded lower on crypto.news price pages. Bitcoin was near $76,559, while Ethereum was near $2,089 at the time of writing.