Michael Saylor’s Strategy, formerly from MicroStrategy, continues its goal of accumulating Bitcoin and gradually strengthens its position as a leader among publicly traded companies with BTC.
Similarly, Tom Lee's BitMine Technologies is gaining traction on the Ethereum front and is also leading among publicly traded companies with ETH.
Peter Schiff criticizes Strategy's Bitcoin holdings worth several billion
Last week, Strategy purchased an additional 1229 BTC for approximately $108.8 million at an average price of $88,568 per Bitcoin. This brings the company's total Bitcoin holdings to 672,497 BTC, with an average cost of $74,997 per Bitcoin, valued at around $50.44 billion.
Strategy reports a BTC return of 23.2% so far in 2025, with an unrealized gain of $8.31 billion, or about 16% over five years.
Despite these striking figures, investor and gold supporter Peter Schiff expressed skepticism about Strategy's gains. Schiff pointed out that a paper gain of 16% over five years corresponds to an annual average return of just over 3%, a value he described as disappointing compared to traditional assets.
“MSTR would have performed much better if Saylor had bought almost any other asset instead of Bitcoin,” wrote Schiff, referring to the Bitcoin accumulation as a possibly inefficient capital allocation.
While Schiff questions how effective Strategy's Bitcoin holdings are, the company's approach reflects a broader trend of institutional accumulation in the crypto market.
MicroStrategy's long-term buy-and-hold strategy demonstrates a strong belief in Bitcoin as a store of value, even amidst the debate on opportunity costs and realized gains.
Tom Lee's BitMine is approaching the “Alchemy of 5%” Ethereum goal.
Parallel to Strategy's Bitcoin investments, Tom Lee's BitMine Immersion (BMNR) is making significant moves within Ethereum.
BitMine purchased an additional 44,463 ETH last week, and now has a total of 4,110,525 Ether tokens, worth $12.02 billion. This represents 3.41% of the total ETH supply.
In addition, BitMine has 408,627 staked ETH, with the MAVAN staking solution planned to launch in the first quarter of 2026.
BitMine's total crypto, cash, and “moonshots” holdings are now at $13.2 billion, including $1 billion in cash and $23 million in other strategic investments.
The company is backed by institutional investors such as ARK CEO Cathie Wood, Founders Fund, Pantera, Galaxy Digital, Kraken, and individual Tom Lee. BitMine has also established itself as one of the most traded stocks in the U.S., with an average daily trading volume of $980 million, ranked number 47 among 5704 publicly listed stocks.
The various approaches of Strategy and BitMine highlight an ongoing debate in the institutional crypto environment. While Strategy focuses on Bitcoin accumulation, BitMine is aggressively expanding its Ethereum treasury and staking operations.
Both strategies signal increased institutional faith in digital assets, but Schiff's criticism highlights the tension between holding for long-term gains and assessing realized investment returns.
BitMine will hold its annual shareholder meeting at Wynn Las Vegas on January 15, 2026, with key proposals aimed at achieving the company’s “Alchemy of 5%” strategy in ETH.
At the same time, Strategy continues to discreetly acquire Bitcoin, maintaining its position as the world's largest BTC treasury. This is despite the existing risks associated with MSCI exclusion.
