Bitcoin dropped from approximately $86,590 to $83,790 in roughly 20 minutes on October 7, triggering a flash crash that liquidated $412.62 million in longs within an hour. Ether declined more sharply, sliding from around $2,720 to $2,610, with one trader losing a $9.85 million ETH position in approximately three minutes.
The price movements occurred as Tom Lee, chairman of ether treasury company Bitmine and head of research at Fundstrat, spoke at the Token2049 conference in Singapore. Lee stated that crypto is "2 days past the bottom" and suggested this "may be the biggest bull market we've ever seen." He attributed the potential bull market to four factors: institutional asset tokenization, an intergenerational wealth transfer spanning a decade, digital asset treasury companies accumulating supply, and artificial intelligence agents conducting onchain transactions.
Lee noted that he has "never seen" as many major institutions declare a bull market during previous cycles as they have in the current market, which he dated to August 2026. He identified the four-year-cycle bottom as already having occurred.
On the same day, U.S. spot ether exchange-traded funds recorded $201.89 million in outflows, while bitcoin ETFs took in $118.8 million.
Bitmine's Purchase Cap
Lee announced that Bitmine will not accumulate beyond 5% of ether's total supply. The company purchased 12,500 ETH worth $33.65 million on October 7 via BitGo, bringing its holdings to approximately 4.9% of ether's supply.
At current supply levels of 122.1 million ETH, the 5% threshold represents approximately 6.105 million ETH. Bitmine's current holdings total roughly 6.03 million ETH, leaving approximately 76,000 ETH—or close to $200 million at prices near $2,617—before reaching the cap.
Bitmine has been adding tens of millions of dollars in ether holdings weekly and only surpassed 6 million ether in late September. Once the company reaches its 5% cap, ether will lose one of its most consistent large-scale buyers.
