Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Chairman Tom Lee, has purchased an additional 101,901 ETH, bringing its total holdings to over 5 million tokens, approximately 4.21% of the circulating supply of the second-largest cryptocurrency. This milestone was achieved in roughly 10 months, following the company's pivot from a bitcoin miner to a digital asset treasury strategy company in June. Tom Lee stated, 'Bitmine's ETH holdings have surpassed 5 million, marking a significant milestone as we strive to acquire 5% of the ETH supply.' The recent purchase, valued at approximately $236 million, continues the company's streak of larger weekly purchases, while most digital asset treasuries remain inactive.
The firm's total crypto and cash holdings now stand at $13.3 billion, including 200 bitcoin, $940 million in cash, and equity stakes in various companies. Additionally, Bitmine has expanded its staking operations, with around 3.7 million tokens, or 73% of its holdings, now staked, generating approximately $264 million in annualized revenue.
Tom Lee has also emphasized ether's evolving role, citing research by Etherealize, which suggests that ETH is increasingly being viewed as a 'store of value' and collateral, driven by growing use cases such as tokenization and AI systems relying on public blockchains.