Ether rose 7.46% to $2,619 by the end of the working week on September 11, bringing its weekly gain to 6.62%, as markets reversed higher after August U.S. inflation data. Annual CPI matched expectations at 3.4%, while core CPI increased 0.3% month over month, slightly above forecasts. The release initially lifted Treasury yields and caused brief volatility, but defensive positioning and cash holdings helped fuel a rebound in risk assets and forced short liquidations. Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee described the move as the beginning of a major rally for short sellers. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, whose board Lee has chaired since summer 2025, has pursued his "alchemy of 5%" strategy and accumulated 5.9 million ETH by September 2026, or about 4.9% of global supply, with most of the tokens placed into staking. Earlier market data showed Ether rising as much as 8.3% intraday, with more than $255 million in Ether shorts liquidated over 24 hours as total crypto-market liquidations reached roughly $500 million.