Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, BitMine’s 5% Ether supply target became a hard cap, Pudgy Penguins-backed Abstract said it will shut down after losing tens of millions of dollars without finding product-market fit and a CoinShares survey found digital assets now make up about 10% of affluent investors’ portfolios.

BitMine sets 5% Ether supply ‘hard cap’ as accumulation target nears

Bitmine Immersion Technologies will cap its Ether holdings at 5% of the cryptocurrency’s supply, according to Chairman Tom Lee.

Speaking during a keynote at Token2049 in Singapore on Wednesday, Lee said Bitmine is nearing the threshold after accumulating roughly 6 million Ether, equivalent to about 4.9% of the supply. He said the company needs about 100,000 ETH more to reach its target.

“That’s a hard cap. We’re not gonna be accumulating past 5%,” Lee said. “We’re not gonna own more than 5% of Ethereum.”

Lee had previously left open the possibility of accumulating more than 5% of Ether’s supply depending on Ethereum adoption. In an August interview with Bankless, he said the company may revisit that possibility in 2027.

Pudgy Penguins-backed Abstract to shut down after “tens of millions” in losses

Abstract, a consumer-focused Ethereum layer-2 blockchain built by Pudgy Penguins’ parent company Igloo Inc., said Tuesday it will shut down this year after struggling to scale and find product-market fit.

In an X post, Abstract said its focus on “consumer crypto” ultimately proved to be an unsustainable business model. Abstract launched its mainnet in January 2025 with the aim of driving consumer crypto adoption by targeting mainstream entertainment. For users, it aimed to strip away many of the complexities that traditional blockchains require.

“Unknown to most, Igloo, Inc. had been funding Abstract over the last 18 months,” said Luca Netz, CEO of Igloo Inc. “After losing tens of millions of dollars over two years, building consumer products, assembling an all-star team, onboarding some of the biggest brands in the world, and building a community of millions, we still had not found product-market fit.”

Abstract’s shutdown highlights the limits of its consumer-first strategy. Both Abstract and Netz cited minimal institutional crossover, alongside thin liquidity and a restricted DeFi ecosystem, as constraints on growth.

Crypto is becoming a 10% portfolio bet for wealthy investors

Digital assets now account for roughly 10% of the average portfolio among affluent investors surveyed by CoinShares, and most existing holders plan to increase their exposure this year.

The survey covered 2,230 investors with at least $500,000 in investable assets across the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. Digital asset ownership exceeded 50% in every market and reached roughly 70% in four.

The bigger shift may be how investors view crypto. Long-term appreciation and diversification ranked as the leading reasons for owning digital assets, while speculation came last. Just 6% of respondents primarily identified as short-term traders.

February’s market downturn also failed to reverse those plans. In every country surveyed, more investors said the sell-off increased their interest in crypto than reduced it. At least 85% of existing holders in five countries plan to add to their positions this year.

Bitcoin remains the main entry point, with 80% of crypto investors holding BTC. But it is rarely their only exposure: 89% of Bitcoin investors also owned other digital assets.