BitMine Adds $294 Million in Ethereum as Tom Lee Makes Bullish Bitcoin, ETH Price Projections

In brief

BitMine Immersion Technologies added more than 80,000 ETH to its leading Ethereum treasury last week.
The firm now holds more than 2.8% of the entire ETH supply.
Shares of BMNR have fallen more than 8% as ETH continues its slide, now changing hands just over $3,600.

Publicly traded Ethereum treasury company BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) added more than $294 million in ETH in the last week, as its Chairman Tom Lee remained bullish on a year-end run for Bitcoin and Ethereum, even as the company’s share price has fallen in recent weeks.

The firm acquired another 82,353 ETH, bringing its balance sheet totals to 3,395,422 Ethereum or more than 2.8% of the circulating Ethereum supply which it has acquired at an average price of $3,909.

With ETH changing hands at $3,617, down more than 6% over the past 24 hours, the firm’s investment has declined. BMNR shares were off more than 8% on Monday and have fallen about 25% over the past month.

Still, Lee is predicting an end-of-year rally.

“The market is consolidating,” said Lee on CNBC’s Squawk Box. “But if I look at fundamentals, like Ethereum, stablecoin volume has been exploding, application revenues are at all-time highs…right now fundamentals are leading price in crypto.”

Lee pointed to crypto’s recent record-breaking $19 billion liquidation event as a reset point for the market, calling it a “miniature rupture” around which the market is consolidating.

“I think eventually we consolidate, and rally into year end,” he said, calling a potential move to $150,000 or $200,000 for Bitcoin and $7,000 for Ethereum before the calendar turns.

An explosive move up for ETH would significantly boost BitMine’s industry leading Ethereum treasury. At the time of writing, the firm holds more than $12.5 billion worth of ETH, making it the second largest crypto treasury, only trailing Bitcoin behemoth and digital asset treasury pioneer, Strategy, which holds more than $69 billion worth of Bitcoin.

The firm also holds 192 Bitcoin worth around $20 million, a $62 million stake in EightCo Holdings (ORBS), and around $389 million in unencumbered cash.

In a Myriad prediction market, 95% of respondents believe BitMine will hold more ETH than the second largest Ethereum treasury, SharpLine Gaming at the end of the year. Myriad is a unit of Dastan, the parent company of an editorially independent Decrypt.