BitMine’s Ethereum Stash Nears $5 Billion After Largest ETH Buy Yet

BitMine Immersion Technologies’ Ethereum holdings were valued at nearly $5 billion on Monday, as the treasury firm said that it now owns 1% of the asset’s circulating supply.

The Las Vegas-based firm, chaired by Fundstrat co-founder and managing partner Tom Lee, held 1.15 million Ethereum on Monday, a 317,000 ETH increase compared to the week prior, according to a press release. Last week, BitMine disclosed a 208,000 ETH purchase.

In a statement, Lee said that the company has operated at “lightning speed” in pursuit of its main goal: owning 5% of Ethereum’s circulating supply. That would equate to six million Ethereum worth $25.6 billion, based on current prices, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko.

Ethereum changed hands around $4,250 on Monday, rising 19% on the week. The asset’s price has increased 70% since BitMine initiated an Ethereum treasury strategy in late June.

BitMine shares popped 23% on Monday to $63, according to Yahoo Finance. Over the past five trading days, the company’s stock price has more than doubled.

In a shareholder presentation released on Monday, BitMine paid homage to the original crypto treasury firm, saying Strategy’s Bitcoin-buying playbook and “competitive” returns show how company stock can be an “attractive alternative” to crypto spot exposure, in some cases.

The presentation notes that like Strategy, BitMine trades at a premium relative to its crypto holdings, allowing it to issue stock to grow its Ethereum holdings per share. And BitMine plans to issue its own “equity-linked securities,” such as convertible debt, to fund purchases, too.

Unlike Strategy and Bitcoin, BitMine can also grow its Ethereum holdings through staking. The presentation highlights acquisitions as another potential way to grow Ethereum per share.

The presentation’s final slide teases a “Made in America Validator Network” as something on the company’s roadmap, as well as “BitMine MoonShots,” where the firm would make “select investments in bold ideas” with less than 1% of its treasury holdings.

BitMine is one of several Ethereum treasury firms scooping up the asset, with SharpLink Gaming and The Ether Machine owning 600,000 ETH worth $2.5 billion and 345,000 Ethereum worth $2.4 billion, respectively, according to Strategic ETH Reserve.

But with its latest purchase, BitMine is looking toward Strategy and Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings, saying that its treasury’s size is now only behind theirs. Strategy owned $75.5 billion worth of Bitcoin on Monday, according to Bitcoin Treasuries, making its treasury 15 times larger than BitMine’s. MARA held $6 billion worth of Bitcoin—a far more comparable sum.